Rise of Papillon
by Carly the Llama
Summary: When Style Queen goes horribly wrong, leaving Adrien paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, he fears there is no reason to exist, regardless of his friends trying to help. When he finds the Moth Miraculous in his room, he immediately hops onto the chance to be a hero again, becoming Papillon. But why would Hawk Moth give it up? And why is Gabriel's health rapidly deteriorating?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay! I am Paula the Llama—at least that's the name my sister gave me, and I might get to write a chapter of Fireheart, so I won't argue.**

 **And now, here is Rise of Papillon, even though that shit won't happen for a couple chapters. And yes, I curse just as much as my sister, I ruined my innocence when I asked her to give me the birds and the bees talk, and she let loose on anything and everything.**

 **Chapter 1**

"I'm gonna squash you like the nasty bug you are!" Style Queen shouted, pushing Ladybug in the back and she fell over, "Hahaha! You're no match for Style Queen, my poor Ladybug. Soon, you'll be nothing but a bad memory, like shoulderpads!"

Plagg appeared out of nowhere, "Stay away from the Ladybug!"

"Plagg!" Ladybug shouted

"Agh, my, my. What do we have here? A talking rat?" Style Queen looked thoroughly unimpressed.

"Meow. Style faux pas. Cataclysm!" Plagg slammed his tiny hand on the floor, causing a massive explosion. The forcefield around Adrien shatters, the Eiffel Tower, along with its foundation crumble, the nearest bridge also cracks; an entire skyscraper went down; the tip of the Eiffel Tower fell off; a piece of debris fells on Style Queen. "You better hurry and fix everything.

Ladybug smashed the cracked forcefield, "Now I get why Master Fu didn't want to let you out."

Style Queen materialized again, "No!" Ladybug broke the rose and the akuma fluttered out.

"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" She caught the Akuma, "Gotcha!" She opened her yo-yo and a cured white butterfly flew out, "Bye, bye, little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!"

The Miraculous Cure fixed the cracks in the bridge; caught the tip of the Eiffel Tower before it could fully fall; cured Alya from being a statue; cured Chloé from being a statue; and cured Adrien—who also got his lower half that had crumbled back.

"Adrikins!" Chloe ran over and hugged Adrien, who was still on the ground, looking down at his legs, "I was so scared!"

…

Adrien woke up and found himself on the ground. Then he saw Ladybug, and Chloe hugging him. _Damnit, I was useless again._ He mentally groaned. He moved to get up but realized he couldn't move his legs; scratch that, he couldn't _feel_ his legs.

"Chloe…" He looked up at her, "Can you feel your body. Are you…numb?" He didn't know how to describe the feeling as though he was defying gravity due to not feeling anything from the hips down, but numb seemed like the best word to put on it.

"No, why?" Chloe asked, looking confused and worried.

"I can't feel my legs."

Chloe's eyes widened, and she ran over to Ladybug,

…

"I hope Cat Noir finds his Miraculous." Ladybug said to Plagg.

"Don't worry. I'll be on him like mold on cheese." The kwami flew off as Chloe ran over,

"Ladybug! Something's wrong with Adrien!"

It was the use of Adrien's real name instead of that annoying nickname that made Ladybug realize something had to be _really_ wrong with Adrien. Because really, had she ever used his real name before? Ladybug couldn't recall one. She ran to Adrien's side, bending down beside him.

"Adrien, are you in pain? Where does it hurt? Can you move? How many fingers am I holding up?!" She was frantic, holding up three fingers. Adrien looked fine, if not a bit frightened.

"I-I'm not in pain, but I can't feel or move my legs."

Ladybug grabbed his left foot and wiggled it, "Anything?" Adrien shook his head, visibly scared now. Now Ladybug was officially insane with worry. She swept him into her arms, bridal style, flying off the Eiffel Tower, to the nearest hospital.

" _Hang on, Adrien."_

OoOoO

After an hour-long check-up, involving X-Rays and attempted lower body motion, Dr. Winston, Adrien's doctor, came back with a file. You know that face the flight attendant makes when something's not right, but they can't tell you what? That's the face Adrien's doctor had when he walked through that door.

"Adrien…"

Adrien pressed a button to recline the bed into a more seated position, "What's wrong with me?"

Dr. Winston bit his lip, looking to where Ladybug was waiting in nervous anticipation, "Adrien…we don't know the cause, but assume it had something to do with the latest akuma, but…you seem to have Paraplegia."

"Paraplegia?" Ladybug asked curiously.

Dr. Winston gestured with a nod for her to sit, so she did. He took a breath, knowing what he was about to say would effectively traumatize poor Adrien.

"Paraplegia, sometimes called partial paralysis, is a form of paralysis in which function is substantially impeded from the waist down. Most people with paraplegia have perfectly healthy legs. Instead, the problem resides in either the brain or the spinal cord, which cannot send or receive signals to the lower body due to an injury or disease. The other doctors and myself guess it had something to do with the crumbling statue incident an hour ago." He decided to look down at a file. Why, cruel gods, did it have to be his job to tell this kid what had happened? Why couldn't it be some phycologist?

"Some of the most common effects of paraplegia include loss of sensation below the site of the injury. Higher injuries will typically produce greater loss of sensation; phantom sensations in the body, unexplained pain, electrical sensations, or other intermittent feelings in the lower half of the body; a decrease in or loss of sexual function, libido, or fertility; difficult with bladder and bowel function; loss of mobility below the waist; changes in mood; depression is common among people with a new paraplegia diagnosis; and chronic pain." He looked up at the horrified teens, and decided to end on a slightly higher note,

"Know, however, that even the best doctors cannot be certain about the verdict, and you should not allow this to undermine your motivation to keep working toward recovery."

But Adrien didn't hear that last sentence. All he heard was paralyzed. He stared at his doctor, horrified, broken, tears falling down his face. If he was paralyzed, then…he couldn't be Cat Noir anymore...no more running across the rooftops of Paris...no more freedom...

No more Ladybug.

That was what he couldn't bear. Ladybug had kept him sane. Without her...he wasn't fully sure Cat Noir would have had a sound mental stability.

He was caught up in these thoughts, he didn't notice Dr. Winston give him a wheelchair; he didn't notice Ladybug carry him home; and he didn't notice her put him to bed, kissing his forehead.

OoOoO

Gabriel was working in his atelier, beyond frustrated that Style Queen, his masterpiece, had failed. How?! If it hadn't been for the Cat kwami—! The better question was, why the hell had it only been the kwami? Was Cat Noir sick or something, but Ladybug still needed help? He had already deducted Adrien from the list of suspects—even though, admittedly, Adrien had been the only one on that list—so it had to be a coincidence. He had seen Adrien and Cat Noir together, side by side. But at least Adrien was safe now, that was a relief.

Suddenly, he got a call from Natalie, "Yes, Natalie? I assume the fashion show's back on track."

Natalie shook her head, and…were those tears in her eyes?! "S-Sir…the show's been cancelled. Apparently your akuma did more damage than you thought. Look at the news."

Gabriel flipped to the news, to Nadja Chamack talking, only for him to feel his heart stop beating as time froze, his already broken world crashing down around him as one sentence repeated in his head.

"During the last akuma attack, it has been revealed that model Adrien Agreste has been paralyzed from the hips down, no longer able to walk. He was last seen when Ladybug assumingly took him home from the hospital."

Last akuma. Paralyzed. Can't walk. Hospital. Your fault.

His brain was repeating these words in his head. Adrien's young life had just hit a massive boulder, this would change his present and future forever. He might as well have physically been the one to paralyze his own son.

That was when he realized he had auto-piloted to Adrien's door. He knocked, "Adrien? Can I come in?" Normally he'd go in uninvited, but he just couldn't bring himself to care about anything other than the crushing guilt, and fear for his only child. There was no response.

He knocked again, "I know you're home, Adrien, I heard Ladybug bring you in." He had heard them, but had brushed it off as his imagination or a particularly idiotic pigeon. "Adrien? You're scaring me now. I'm coming in." He opened the door and saw Adrien in bed, but he wasn't asleep, his pale green eyes were staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

 _He must be in shock, or some sort of stupor._ Gabriel realized, pulling over a desk chair. He took Adrien's right hand in his own, squeezing it in an attempt to rouse him. Adrien didn't even stir.

It was too painful for Gabriel to bear. He had been so desperate to get Emilie back, he hadn't thought about Adrien's health until something went horribly wrong, and expected Ladybug's Miraculous Cure to fix everything, or Gabriel himself would if he got Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous. He just wanted his family to go back to normal. He wasn't a monster.

Well, apparently, he was. His son's broken future was proof of that.

He decided to start imagining any way he could be supportive for Adrien with his newfound disability. Well, fencing would have to go. Chinese was fine and so was piano, but modeling? Could Adrien still model? A wheelchair wouldn't work... yeah no, modeling was out of the picture for a while, until they figured something out.

Looking from the window, back to Adrien, he found a single tear falling from his son's eye. He brushed it away, gently closing Adrien's eyes. Now was he looked like he was merely sleeping.

His dwindling resolve just crumpled then, sitting on the bed and cradling Adrien to his chest, keeping track of the boy's breathing to make sure he was alive.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have risked your life, I should have saved you." He cried, "Please forgive me, everything will be okay. In time." What would Emilie do? She had always known what to do. Well, this would have never happened if she hadn't been lost in the first place.

Who was he kidding? NO amount of apologizing would make this right. Emilie would probably leave him if she found out what he had done to their son. So, he would do everything he could to help, or at least keep Adrien happy.

He stayed with Adrien all of that night.

OoOoO

Adrien wasn't aware of much anything. He vaguely heard voices, and vaguely noted the cold, but the horror of the realization he was utterly useless now shattered any will to go on.

The only thing that brought him from his state was Plagg purring in his hair.

Adrien blinked a couple times, registering that he was safe, in his room. Maybe it had all been a bad dream…

"Hey kitten. How're you feeling. You've been in a catatonic stupor for two days. The doctor said you were really traumatized."

Nope. Guess not. Adrien slowly sat up, "I'm fine." No… he was wondering why he existed.

"Kid, you can talk to me." Plagg sounded genuinely worried, and that made Adrien feel guilty for being so useless as to make the kwami who cared only about cheese worry. He looked away, "No. I can't."

"Please, Adrien, you're safe, everything will be alright—"

"Stop saying that! It won't be!" Adrien shouted, "I can't be Cat Noir! Go find a new owner! I'm _useless_!" He broke down, sobbing once more.

Plagg sat in Adrien's lap, "I won't leave you. Even if you can't fight, but I think the suit may help you walk, I hope. I'll be here for you, no matter what. You're my kitten, Adrien, and I've lost so many, I refuse to lose you."

Adrien hugged his kwami, "Thank you, Plagg. You're a good friend."

He laid back down, staring at his ceiling. Hawk Moth was still a big problem, and he couldn't fight, but he still had Plagg. And maybe Hawk Moth would give up if Cat Noir stopped showing for the fights. Or maybe he'd start massacring…he hoped for the former.

Adrien pondered his future for about an hour before remembering his father was unaware he was awake. He got up to go get him, somehow briefly forgetting about being paralyzed—he used his arms to hop of the bed, only to fall flat on his face. Plagg just stared at him, "Already?"

"Shut up Plagg."

That was when Gabriel sprinted in, "Adrien!" He sat Adrien up and picked him up, putting him back in bed, "You're awake!"

"I wasn't technically asleep."

"Yet nothing could rouse you."

Adrien nodded, his father had a fair point, "Yeah..." He sighed "I assume I'm not allowed to go to school anymore." He just grimaced, knowing deep down there was no hope of ever going back to school, but he decided to get that out of the way instead of discovering it later.

Gabriel shrugged, "If you use your wheelchair and get help going up and down stairs, I don't see a problem. But Dr. Winston told me to wait until your body fully processes…you know…so, two weeks?"

Adrien gaped at his father. Never had he expected that. Two weeks was nothing! It was almost too good to be true.

"Why are you so agreeable? You're _never_ this agreeable. I thought you'd lock me up forever."

Adrien saw his father freeze for a moment and wondered why, until Gabriel answered,

"Don't get me wrong, you will be calling me every hour, so I can make sure you don't need anything. I worry, but I won't prevent you from living your life, especially with your injury." Adrien smiled gratefully,

"Thank you."

Gabriel hugged him, "Anytime."

Maybe everything would be okay, it would just take time.

 **A/N: So…first chapter's done. If you came here for Carly, in the event I want some fluffy stuff, I would ask her to write that and don't want shit to bounce around writing styles. She's the funny and fluffy sister, not counting The Fourth Apprentice, which was a step out of her comfort zone to not do crack.**

 **I don't understand why my sister gets so happy about reviews, and I want to find out, so please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys. Paula again. I have an important update about Carly.**

 **As most of you know, she's only updated Rage Awakened in a good long while, but I was the one to post it, because it had been written since last Friday. She meant to update Fireheart, but…she gets bad migraines, and the Halloween trick-or-treaters plus the dog barking did her in; found her crying in a dark room when I got back. It got worse the next day and we took her to the ER, she got discharged a couple hours later and spent the rest of the day stoned on pain killers. She's slept through Friday. On Saturday/today, she has an important CERT test that is probably going to do her in again, so I would not expect an update from her stories for a while.**

 **But Mayura is coming out in like three hours, so we'll see if I win the bet. Dad told me he saw a Twitter post or something that Thomas Astruc said Mayura's identity will not be revealed, but I beg and plead to differ. But if I win, Fireheart will get an update. I asked her if I could update her shit, and she said sure, but I think she was under the influence of the cherry smelling nightmare pain killer.**

 **So wish Carly get well, and here is chapter 2.**

 **Chapter 2**

The days blended together as the two weeks went by.

Adrien didn't have much to do, really, because the motorized wheelchair wouldn't arrive for somewhere between six weeks and three months. He had figured out how to roll around to change, which involved a hell of a lot of flexibility and awkward bending and was beyond frustrating, but wasn't impossible.

An occupational therapist had some twice, to help him try regaining feeling in his legs, but it had ended in sweat and tears both times.

He had yet to see his friends. Apparently, Nino had been over while he was in his stupor, to try reviving him, but he had been in basic solitude during the two weeks. He had a ton of 'get well' and 'I am sorry for you' cards, from random fangirls, and a couple of the former from various classmates, and he was honestly sick of them. He didn't want pity, getting enough from the three people who lived with him.

When he woke up the morning he was to return to school, he once again forgot he was paralyzed—hey, you generally aren't at your best at six in the morning—and once again fell on his face, only this time in a pile of pillows set out by Natalie, with a change of clothes on the one next to him, and a pillow staircase to his wheelchair. God bless her.

It wasn't his normal attire, it was just his normal black t-shirt with some grey sweatpants—because it is hard to roll and bend into jeans, and the fact he had figured out a system to change at all in such a short amount of time was nothing short of a miracle—before using his arms to scoot himself to his wheelchair, situating himself with a pale grey sweatshirt on the armchair.

He texted Natalie,

A(Adrien): Can you please…

N(Natalie): Coming.

Natalie came in with a tray, situating it to rest on the armrests, a plate of scrambled eggs on the tray, that Adrien ate silently as she pushed him out of his room and slowly, with the help of Gorilla, got him down the stairs. They were having a ramp built so he could be a bit more independent, because the novelty of being tended to hand and numb-ass foot had worn off within thirty-three seconds.

"Adrien, are you sure you don't want to wait for a little longer?" Natalie asked.

"I'm sure, Natalie, just drop me off, I'll be fine."

Natalie and Gorilla looked to each other worriedly, though they did drop him off at the stairs.

But… wheelchair + stairs = -13.

So, he just tried and failed to get up the stairs, forgetting there was nothing for handicapped people, unlike other schools. He sat at the base, tugging at his hair to hide the tears threatening to fall.

"Adrien, you're back."

Adrien turned and saw Nino smiling softly, but not with pity like everyone else who had seen him and not helped, he honestly looked pleasantly surprised, and tired. Adrien just grinned, trying to hide the anger and frustration.

…

Nino walked to school like he did any other day. Dear god, he missed Adrien, and wondered if he would ever be back. He had gotten a text, saying Adrien would be coming back, but he hadn't had any contact since.

Meaning he had not expected to see Adrien, alone, in his wheelchair, tearing at his hair at the base of the stairs. He found himself mentally thanking Alya for going to talk to the mayor about handicap assist as her good deed for the Heroes' Day. This was depressing to watch.

What does one do in this situation? They had all been told during the Guest Speaker, that you should never assume someone in a wheelchair needs help, but it was obvious Adrien needed help, and all the other people walking by were ignoring him.

"Adrien, you're back." Well, maybe Adrien would ask for help, that would make things easier.

Adrien grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes, "Hey Nino! Long time, no see!" Nope, he was not asking for help, time to be awkward.

"Do you need any help? Stairs and wheelchair don't mix."

Adrien, thankfully, didn't look offended, but more embarrassed. He remained silent for a minute, before giving a teary nod, "Yeah. Yeah, I need help."

Nino smiled, bending down in front of his friend's wheelchair, hoisting him onto a piggyback ride. Then he noticed Marinette running by, meaning they were about to be late, but who cared.

"Mari! Do you mind giving me a hand?"

Marinette gasped at the sight of Adrien being carried by Nino, resting his head on his best friend's shoulder, not wanting to look at anyone, blushing furiously. She nodded and picked up the wheelchair, dragging it along with her.

They walked up the stairs, Adrien clinging tighter to Nino, clearly embarrassed, feeling the stares of everyone in the school.

When they got to the classroom, Nino sat Adrien in his normal seat, Marinette placed the wheelchair behind the chair, sitting in her own seat. Nino proceeded to explain everything Adrien had missed.

…

Marinette stared at the back of Adrien's head. She could practically feel his sadness, but could also tell Nino treating him no differently made things easier.

All this time, her partner had been right in front of her.

 _Marinette walked back to Master Fu after a long ass fight alone with Queen Wasp. For the love of god, would Cat Noir just find his damn Miraculous!?_

 _She walked in, and once again saw Plagg conversing with the elderly master, only this time he was in tears._

" _What happened?" She asked, as Master Fu turned to her,_

" _Marinette…I'm glad you came. Plagg here had given me some grave news. I suggest you sit down."_

 _Grave news? She didn't want to hear it, having already heard what had happened to Adrien. But she did sit down. Master Fu looked to Plagg, who nodded slightly, leaving._

" _I lied to you Marinette, about what happened to Cat Noir." He said, pouring her some tea. Marinette was getting scared now. She could not bear to hear the two most important men in her life were having something terrible happen to them, all in one day._

" _W-What happened?"_

" _Adrien Agreste is the civilian identity of Cat Noir. But because the injury is so fresh, Plagg's transformation will not cancel out the effect while transformed, maybe in time, but not any time soon. He will not be your partner unless a true miracle or twist of fate occurs."_

 _Marinette gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle her scream. Adrien…Cat Noir…there was no way, they were so different. But when she thought about it, her life was such a farce, who else could it possibly be. She felt stupid for not seeing it, but the complete one-eighty of his personality was unsettling, and she wondered which side was real. Did she love the real Adrien?_

 _She just nodded to him, trying to hide her tears. Marinette left the shop then, home and into her room._

 _Tikki emerged, "Marinette? I know this revelation is shocking, but are you okay? You seem…off…" To the shock of her kwami, Marinette began taking down all the pictures of Adrien, except the one framed, which she decided to keep. "What are you doing?"_

" _I don't love Adrien." She mused aloud, "Cat Noir is the real Adrien. How can I claim to love someone if I don't even see the full picture of his personality? I…I'm just obsessed with the idea of him. If I'm going to say I love him, I need to truly know him, and fall in love with the real him."_

 _Tikki sat on the desk, "That's a good idea, Marinette. Now I can finally say it, you and Adrien have always been destined to be together, but it is a great plan to know all of him. He'll need all the help and friendship he can get."_

Back in the present day, Marinette realized she had tuned out the class, and once again assisted Nino to getting Adrien down to the courtyard.

…

Adrien called his father to let him know he was still alright and didn't need anything. Then he heard Chloe's screeching voice. Apparently, she had been out of school for her "trauma of being akumatized" and she was coming back during the lunch period.

"Adrikins!" She greeted, running at and throwing herself at him. But he wasn't as strong, being stuck in a wheelchair and all. When she jumped into his arms, the sudden weight caused the wheelchair to fall backward; Chloe jumped to her feet before hitting the ground, but Adrien hit his head on the ground, causing everyone to rush over.

"Adrikins! Are you alright?"

Adrien just stared blankly at the sky as Nino sat him back up. He groaned, rubbing his now aching head, hearing various people asking about his wellbeing.

Maybe coming back was a mistake. Maybe he should just drop out and go back home and stay there…

Fortunately, Nino seemed to hear his thoughts, and had gotten him out of the crowd, "Don't think about that, bro. Sure, the first day's hard, but it will get better." He smiled, "Hey, my mom's a doctor. Want to tell your dad that, and spend the night at my place?"

Adrien looked up at his best friend, "Why are you being so kind to me? Not just seeing me for how useless I am?"

"Because you're my bro. Need I remind you it was your status as famous, and friends with Chloe, that made me reluctant to be your friend? It became friends with you for who you are as a person, and not that façade you put up, no injury will change that. But do you want to ask your Dad?"

Adrien pulled out his phone, calling his father,

" _Adrien? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"_

"Um…Nino's Mom is a doctor…can I spend the night at their place, so she can look me over? Get another doctor's verdict?"

The line went silent before… _"Fine. But you'll still call me for anything, and Natalie will pick you up at 10 a.m. sharp."_

Adrien beamed, but it was still strange. It was like his father couldn't say no since his injury. "Thank you, father, I love you!" He hung up and grinned towards Nino, "He said yes!"

Nino high-fived him, "Sweet!"

OoOoO

The school day ended, and Nino carried Adrien down the stairs again, and snuck past the people, pushing his wheelchair to his apartment about a half mile away.

Fortunately, it was more of a flat than anything, and there were no stairs involved.

"Hello, Nino." A middle-aged woman said, "Oh! And Adrien. Nice to meet you after all this time."

Adrien waved, and Nino approached the woman, "Mom, Adrien's staying the night, but do you think you could be a second opinion for his paralysis. We're still trying to find a cure."

Mrs. Lahiffe walked over to Adrien and proceeded to perform the basics, only to come out the same as all the others—i.e. what the hell caused this. She then left to get Nino's younger, brother, Chris, who Adrien had met a collective of once. For a good long while, he hadn't even known Nino's last name.

It was nighttime now, and Adrien and Nino were sitting on the bed, watching _Infinity War_. The credits rolled.

"Well, damn." Adrien mused, "That's it. Really, that's it? So, everyone just died, and Marvel lost millions of dollars." He then sighed, reminded of the one thing that had been bothering him over the last two weeks, "Nino. I can trust you right? With anything?"

Nino turned, still holding the popcorn, "Yeah, what is it?"

Adrien slipped off his ring, handing it to him, "I need you to keep this. I…I am…was…Cat Noir, but my injury makes it so I can't help Ladybug. But she still needs a partner." Plagg flew up, "Kid no! I said I'm staying with you!"

"Plagg…Ladybug still needs help." He held out the ring to Nino, who just closed Adrien's hand.

"Adrien, do you really think I could be Cat Noir? No. That role will belong to you forever. Just keep the ring. Besides, if we're spilling secrets, I'm Carapace, thanks for letting me borrow your staff."

Adrien just gaped at him, "Really?!"

"Yup." He gave a thumbs up, "And now that we're both superheroes, I have a theory about your condition. Maybe we need to defeat Hawk Moth, then Ladybug's Miraculous Ladybug will repair the complete damage."

It did make some twisted sense. Hawk Moth technically caused the damage. But still… "So what? I can't fight."

"But I can," Nino said, "I'll talk to Ladybug, maybe have Alya set up a meeting, so I can help out. If my theory is right, I won't stop until you're better, bro."

Adrien smiled shyly, "You'd really risk yourself for me?"

"Of course I would. What are friends for?"

Adrien leaned over and managed to give Nino a strange hug, "Thank, bro."

OoOoO

Gabriel sat in his bedroom, staring at the ceiling. In normal circumstances, he would have likely said no to letting Adrien go back to school and would have made things go back to the way they were before Adrien had gone to school in the first place; and there was no way he'd let him go over to that DJ's place, but this was his fault, nobody but his. He wasn't careful, and Adrien paid the price, he wouldn't lock his son away for something he couldn't control. And he couldn't even bring himself to say no to him.

Maybe he wanted there to be less of a chance of Adrien utterly detesting him if he found out…of Emilie not hating him. But how could he just neglect and deny happiness to his effectively crippled child?

Gabriel took a breath, then he continued to think, fingering the Moth brooch in his hand. Adrien loved to help people, but he wouldn't be able to now...and he had the Peacock...but did he really want to see Duusu? Was it worth it? Yes. It was worth it.

He removed his brooch and Nooroo flew back in with a shocked yelp. He put it in the box and took a breath, could he do it? If he gave it to Adrien, there was no turning back without revealing his identity, and he would be suck with Duusu until he got his wish to set things right. Yes. He could. Adrien's life was ruined by Hawk Moth, he would never know who disabled him this way.

Gabriel walked to his computer and typed up a note of explanation, taping it to the box housing the butterfly brooch after applying a butterfly stamp and walked into his son's room, placing the Miraculous on Adrien's nightstand before slipping down to his atelier and clipped on the Peacock brooch, causing the kwami to fly out.

"Hello Duusu." Gabriel said to her, "We have some work to do."

 **A/N: So yeah. Is it butterfly or moth? I've heard it both ways, so I used the term Moth in Next Generation, but I honestly don't know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: NOOOOOOOOO! I LOST THE BET! CARLY WON! NATALIE IS MAYURA AND IS DYING OF DISEASE! Yeah, Carly bet that one too. I thought I had the pot in my hands.**

 **Yeah, no Fireheart chapter for me…yet. Carly, Dad, Mom, and I made another bet that Emilie was Mayura—or if she had a different name, possibly Le Paon—before Natalie, and that's why she's in the CCR (creepy coffin room, as Carly calls it). Though I won't get any return on my wager as nobody is willing to bet against. But since Carly was still out of it, that rotter Marv (our mooching cousin) stole 200 of the 500 dollars in the betting pot. *angry***

 **As for a Carly update, she finished the drill, getting high praise and probably high marks, but it did her in again—but less so, thank god. She spent most of the drill (Mom and I were victims) trying to not scream about the idiocy and incompetence of her comrades, which is always a good sign for her wellbeing. Seriously, like 15 of the 25 victims were tagged wrong, (meaning they misjudged the fatality, though honestly Carly and I could so better moulage/injury makeup having had only one class, so we can't really blame them for some), and 10 of them 'died' because of it. I also learned Carly has more patience than I have ever seen, not knocking a really obnoxious victim the fuck out to get her to shut up, which would have reminded me of Zoe/Fireheart. But she is doing better, and will hopefully be good by the time Rage Awakened it due/Wednesday.**

 **Sorry, I had to rant about that, it was really annoying to wake up at five in the morning to watch almost everyone be idiots.**

 **So…Peacock means disease due to damage…that's going to be fun to play with. *evil grin* And Dad also made a bet that Natalie will be the sacrifice to get Emilie back instead of Adrien, and only Mom is willing to bet against, because if we're all wrong, Marv will get all the betting money, the horrors!**

 **Also, am I the only one who feels Natalie's Mayura face design is going to haunt me in my nightmares, yet I can't look away?**

 **Anyway, chapter 3!**

 **Chapter 3**

Adrien and Nino woke up on the floor in a pile of pillows. Since Adrien hadn't packed anything when coming over, Nino just lent him a shirt and left the pants be, because nobody cares about sweatpants.

"Morning, Nino, Adrien." Nino's younger brother, Chris, greeted sleepily, as they made their way into the kitchen, "Mom's made pancakes."

Nino pushed Adrien to the dining table, piling his friend's plate, "Eat, Adrien. You are way too light, because I have had not the slightest bit of struggle carrying you. Just because you're a model, that does not mean you should be a damn skeleton."

Adrien turned bright red for a second, knowing his best friend was in no way wrong, but did eat, marveling at the glory of pancakes. Then Mrs. Lahiffe came in,

"Boys, time for school." Yeah, apparently the days had blended for Gabriel as well, as he had thought today was Saturday, not Tuesday.

Nino pushed the wheelchair back to school, then, this time with Alya's help, got all the shit up the stairs to the classroom.

Chloe saw Adrien, but didn't run up to him or throw herself at him. She calmly walked up to him,

"Hey Adrien…I'm sorry about yesterday. I was just excited to see you…"

Adrien stared at her, "It's fine…" but it wasn't, it really wasn't. While he had had the night of his life, what Chloe just said made his mood damper. It didn't sound like something Chloe would say at all. Meaning either she was finally changing, or she was treating him differently like most of the others, who he could feel the sympathetic stares from; he had his money on the latter.

He felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned and saw Marinette smiling,

"Hey Adrien." He grinned to her, because other than the lack of stuttering, she wasn't seeming to treat him any differently either.

"Good morning Marinette."

OoOoO

Another day, another bought of frustration at people treating him like a china doll.

At least his close friends didn't care about his disability, but were okay with helping him. He hated to be a burden on them, but they kept insisting it wasn't a problem. But wasn't he a hinderance? They literally had to carry him up and down stairs and push him around.

Natalie helped him to his room, because his father was busy doing something or other—she wasn't specific—but would be up to check on him that night. She sent him a sad smile as she shut the door.

He managed to move the wheels of the wheelchair to his bed, to unload his backpack, when he saw a white box on the nightstand. Plagg gasped, "No way…" He picked up the box, giving it to Adrien, who noticed a note on it,

He picked up the note and read it:

 _Dear Adrien Agreste,_

 _I am sorry to hear of what my akuma did to you. I never intended for anyone to get truly hurt, I only want to use Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous, so I can bring back a lost loved one, not world domination or shit like that. But I need a way to atone, so in this box is the Butterfly Miraculous for you to use as you wish. I still have the Peacock so don't think I just surrendered, but no harm will come to you._

 _Sorry again,_

 _Hawk Moth (or whatever super-villain name I have next)_

Adrien couldn't believe how his luck had just shifted. He had Hawk Moth's Miraculous! Even if he couldn't be Cat Noir, he could use the Butterfly! He wasn't useless!

He looked at the box, holding back tears of utter joy, "P-Plagg…I can still be a hero."

Plagg sat on his knee, "I'm happy for you, kitten. But we need a superhero name for you. And something good, I've always judged the name Hawk Moth. I need to figure out where the Hawk part comes from. Because unless I'm _really_ missing something, there is no attack involving evil hawks. But take a moment to imagine that."

Adrien laughed at the ides of evil hawks flying around, "I think a Hawk Moth is a type of butterfly, but that just makes it even more unintimidating." He thought about it for a moment before coming up with an idea, "Papillon?"

"That was fast. I like that. Papillon it is." Plagg looked down at the box cupped in Adrien's hands, "Are you gonna open it or…"

Adrien opened the box eagerly, a familiar light coming from it as a butterfly-like kwami emerged. The kwami looked up as Plagg lunged at him in a hug,

"Nooroo!" He cried, "Finally, you're okay!"

Nooroo blinked a couple times, looking around in a panic, before sighing in relief, looking towards Adrien,

"I would assume you are my new master." He then noticed Plagg, startled, before returning the hug.

Adrien cringed, "Master? Ew. Just call me Adrien."

Plagg broke the hug as Nooroo nodded his understanding, a speck of relief in his eyes surrounded by a sea of joy, "Okay, Adrien."

Plagg suddenly became serious, putting a tiny hand on Nooroo's shoulder, "Nooroo, who was your previous master? Hawk Moth."

"His name was—" bubbles flew out of Nooroo's mouth, causing Plagg to pull on his ears, groaning loudly, while Adrien looked thoroughly confused,

"What? His name is Bubbles?"

"No." Plagg said, frustration clear in his tone, "It's a spell over kwamis, we literally cannot say the names of our chosen or others, that's why I haven't spilled who Ladybug is. But it's hugely inconvenient in situations like this." He pouted, "Because he also has Duusu."

"Duusu? Is she the Peacock Kwami?"

Plagg nodded, "But we call her the Peafowl."

Nooroo looked up at Adrien with pleading eyes, "You're going to be a hero, right? Right? I swear, please don't make me do evil again."

"Of course I plan to be a hero. I need to help my Lady. And if Nino's theory is right, maybe get my legs back!"

"Don't get your hopes up, kid." Plagg muttered, splitting come camembert with Nooroo, "It might not work like that."

Adrien shrugged, "Still. A little hope never hurt anyone. What's the transformation cue?"

"It's: Wings Rise."

"Let me guess, you have to add 'Dark' to that to make it evil?" Nooroo nodded, causing Adrien to chuckle, "I'll admit, Dark Wings sounds kind of cool, but I'm just imagining Ladybug or Rena doing something like that, or Chloe. Dark Buzz on…I can't take that seriously." Nooroo visibly softened as his new owner joking about it, with no plans to be a Villain. Adrien put a finger under his chin, "Hm…would Chloe become Queen Wasp if she does the Dark Buzz? What about Ladybug?"

"Miss Fortune?" Plagg suggested, "Because Chloe already did Antibug."

Nooroo giggled, "You're a lot more cheerful than I imagined when my former master told me you were paralyzed."

"Oh, I'm not. I'm good at smiling to hide the pain." Adrien said, "But making fun of Hawk Moth has always made my day better, and this time it led to evil bees." He clipped the brooch onto his sweatshirt, because the thing was small enough to be subtle and unlikely to be noticed. "Nooroo! Wings Rise!"

The transformation was…weird…being unable to move and all. It just covered him and that was that. Papillon looked down and noticed his outfit was a slightly more casual than what he had seen of Hawk Moth's from Volpina's illusion, but could still be counted as formal or a dress suit. It was still dark purple, with a black butterfly-shaped lapel—Plagg was holding up a mirror—the Butterfly Miraculous brooch somehow teleported itself to the the center of the collar; he was also wearing black dress pants. His mask was styled like a butterfly, only over his eyes, it was silver. He also had a dark indigo cane as the tool of his Miraculous, though he had to admit, the odds of him ever using the thing were quite slim. He pulled on the ball at the top of the cane, and suddenly a saber pulled out. Well…it still wouldn't be used, but at least he had something to defend himself in the event Hawk Moth wanted the Miraculous back.

He looked around and saw the room was chock full of white butterflies.

Papillon turned to Plagg, "I just realized, I have no idea how to do this."

Plagg flew towards a butterfly, "Summon one of these to you, fill it with power, and it will become a Tenshi, meaning angel. Fun fact: Akuma means demon or devil in Japanese. The you send it off to anyone. Hawk Moth could _technically_ akumatize anyone at any time, but it's harder for them to say no, and they are more dangerous when angry."

"Thanks Plagg." Papillon held his hand out, and one flew into his hand, glowing as he filled it with power. Then they heard a scream outside and Plagg blinked, "And it looks like Hawk Peacock, as I will be calling him until we get a new name, has begun attacking. Go grant someone some power."

Papillon sent the Tenshi out, knowing exactly who he wanted to use, finding his target within seconds.

"Nino, or should I say Carapace, it's me."

Ten minutes earlier

Gabriel let Duusu be in a corner. She wasn't really doing much, but she was damaged, so he couldn't really blame her. But he still needed to use her power. He wished Adrien really had been Cat Noir, that way he could have already taken the Miraculous and been able to use that, but that was not the case. He chuckled humorlessly, if Adrien did turn out to somehow be Cat Noir, he would probably die of guilt if this illness from using the Peacock didn't do it first. But honestly, Adrien was better off without then man who paralyzed him, so if doing this got back his mother to care for him, at the cost of Gabriel's own life, it was completely worth it.

He transformed.

He looked at his outfit and noticed it was similar to his Hawk Moth attire, but with dark blues with the occasional dark pink, and his skin was blue, and his eyes had blue sclerae and pink irises, instead of a mask covering his head. He looked at the reflection of a mirror. He looked kind of creepy. But it wasn't like anyone would see him, or that hand fan in his hand, that made his feel really unintimidating.

He plucked a feather and filled it with dark power, sending it off, using his own emotions to act as a protector—and by protector, get the Miraculouses so he could stop using this one and maybe prevent death. It was a giant moth, off to cause mass hysteria.

He let it bumble around for a bit, thinking about a supervillain name. Mayur? Sure. Fine. Screw it. Mayur it was.

Back to the present, by thirty seconds

Nino saw the giant moth a about the same time he saw the akuma flying at him. No! He could not be akumatized again, he had vowed to help Adrien! The akuma flew into one of his bracelets,

" _Nino, or should I say Carapace, it's me."_

Was that…Adrien? "Adrien?"

" _Yeah. But it's Papillon right now. Apparently Hawk Moth felt bad about being the cause of my paralysis, so he gave me the butterfly, seemingly unaware of me being Cat Noir. So, I can still be a hero! Do you want to go help Ladybug? Because Hawk Moth also told me in his note that he still had the Peacock so I'm guessing that's the reason behind the giant moth. Shall I grant you power for my first go? What do you want? Carapace? Cat Noir? Turtle Noir? Ladybug? Bubbler? I have no idea where that one came from, I'm just chilling in my room with nothing better to do than list."_

Nino laughed. There was no way this wasn't Adrien. "Can you give me the Cataclysm with my Carapace powers?"

" _Really? We're going with the Turtle Noir idea? Okay then! Let's do this!"_ Nino felt the transformation cover him, and saw he was wearing his Carapace attire, with the shield on his back, but the front of his gloves were black. He heard Papillon's voice again, "The shield isn't indestructible, but is very durable. If it does break, I should be able to replace it. And thanks again, Nino, for being willing to help me. And tell Ladybug I say hi."

Carapace—but he knew Turtle Noir would be a joke with himself and Adrien—leapt out the window to where Ladybug was.

"Hey Ladybug."

Ladybug gasped, "How are you here?!"

Carapace pointed to where his bracelet had turned into a copy of the Turtle Miraculous, "Apparently Adri—Cat Noir!—found the Butterfly Miraculous in his room, because he is also suffering from paraplegia, but Hawk Moth has the Peacock. Cat Noir, now Papillon, gave me my Carapace powers, also Cataclysm, because who knows if that would be helpful. He also says hi."

Ladybug gasped, but waved, "Hi, kitty." She turned serious, "I'll freak out later, let's handle this."

Carapace crossed his arms as Ladybug swung off, "Oh, what is my attack called? Turtleclysm?"

" _This was a mistake. I don't freaking know!"_

He groaned and followed Ladybug who was fighting the giant moth, only to discover the thing could vanish half the time. Well, it seemed Cataclysm was a smart idea."

"Cataclysm?" He shouted, more a question, but the power did activate. He ran at the thing, grazing the wing, which made the whole thing go down in a similar fashion to Thanos doing his fancy snap.

Ladybug turned back to them, holding out her fist, "Carapace, Kitty," they bumped fist, and Carapace could feel Papillon mimicking the gesture, muttering, "Pound it."

He ran home, leaping back through his window as Papillon changed him back to Nino. He smiled towards the butterfly flying away,

"Anytime, bro."

OoOoO

Gabriel fell to his knees as his transformation wore out, coughing violently until he felt he would hack out his lungs. Well, that one ended in failure, but there were always others. He wasn't a patient man, but he could wait for a bit; and he did need to fully figure out this Miraculous' power.

He shivered as the coughing finally ceased, exhaustion threatening to claim him. This was the beginning of the end. But he honestly didn't care.

He stumbled to his room, splashing water on his face, taking an Advil to help with the pain. He'd have to get use to this, because this would be normal from here on out; he made a mental note to sit at a desk with a tablet, instead of standing, because if he was tired from only one go…

Maybe he should have cancelled having dinner with Adrien, and spend that time resting, but if he was going to die, or end up unavailable, he wanted to spend as much time with his son as possible.

He walked to Adrien's room, fighting back nausea as he went.

…

Adrien waited in his room for his father to come for dinner. They had given up on getting him to the dining room, so he just ate in his huge room.

Gabriel walked in a moment later, looking noticeably paler. Adrien frowned, as his kwamis hid in a desk drawer,

"Father…are you okay…? You look sick."

Gabriel sat down beside him, "Oh. I'm fine, just tired."

"If you need rest, then—"

"No. I'm fine. Don't worry, son." Adrien still wasn't convinced, but decided to let it go as he ate, his mother's movie, _Solitude_ , playing on the screen. He handed his father some water, and he took it reluctantly, but drank it gratefully.

"Father…are you sure you don't need to lie down?" Gabriel didn't respond, because when he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by violent coughing, "Father?" His father looked up at him, looking genuinely panicked, before the rest of the color drained from his face as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he fell unconscious, falling onto the floor.

"FATHER!"

 **A/N: Well guys, Gabriel's dead. Nah, I'm just kidding, but he isn't doing too well.**

 **Also, Nino will be Adrien's go-to for using a Tenshi, but there will be others, and they will be ridiculous at times. And I decided Cataclysm is what kills them, because if Ladybug is the only one to purify akumas, it makes sense in my mind that Cat Noir is the only one who can defeat Mayura's fancy guardians.**

 **Carly's starting to get better, and should be going to school, so that's a good sign.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Carly/N: This is me publishing my sister's chapter.**

 **A/N: Every day you expect and hope for and want Carly, but you're all stuck with me.**

 **Also, when Adrien was questioning the Dark Buzz, and the other evil superhero cues, that is a genuine question I have. Does anyone have an answer? And what would Rena's be? Let's dark pounce? Mayura's? Dark feathers? I think it only works for Dark Wings, but I will forever think of Darkwing Duck—thank you Dad, for sitting Carly and I down and forcing us to binge that show.**

 **And here is Chapter 4.**

 **Chapter 4**

"FATHER!" Adrien shrieked, using his arms to force the rest of his body onto the floor. For once in his life thanking the fact he was underweight, he managed to use his arms to drag the rest of his body across the floor to his father's side.

"Father?! Wake up!" He looked towards his kwamis, "Nooroo! Wings—"

"Wait." Nooroo insisted, "Just call for Natalie or the bodyguard."

Oddly enough, Adrien never came to question why Nooroo knew Natalie's name, having not been told to Adrien's knowledge. But in his defense, he had more important things to worry about.

"Natalie! Gorilla!" The two in question came running in to find their charge with his father's head in his lap, "I don't know what happened!"

Natalie ran over and looked Gabriel over while Gorilla went to start the car. Natalie removed the suit jacket and looked alarmed. He looked sick, that much was obvious, but he didn't seem to have a fever. And he had been the picture of health not an hour prior.

Gorilla came back in and picked Gabriel up like he weighed nothing, and Natalie helped Adrien back into his chair, only for Gorilla to just feel done with it and picked up the young model as well. Take a moment to imagine that: Gorilla just carrying both Agrestes to the car. Because both Nooroo and Plagg would be laughing had the situation not been so dire; if both father and son had been _fighting_ him, both kwamis would have been revealed via dying of hysteria.

Gabriel was rested gently in the backseat, being supported by Natalie and Adrien, who were both holding onto him, because a seatbelt wasn't exactly easy. Why they didn't call the emergency number, was because just their luck Gabriel would come too and shriek like a banshee if in an ambulance.

"Please hang on, father." Adrien pleaded, "I can't lose you too."

OoOoO

Dr. Winston was debating quitting his job, or at least quitting handling the Agreste family. This was the second time in a month! What was it with this family and getting themselves into medical emergencies that they had no idea how they occurred or what exactly it was?! The scans had come back completely normal for Adrien, and they only reason they had been able to diagnose paraplegia was the fact he couldn't feel or move anything from the hips down. This situation was just as irritating and depressing.

Gabriel, it seemed, had a disease that was either a) something small and the man just had a shitty immune system, or b) some new terminal illness they had yet to discover. Judging by the fact they had seen Gabriel defeat bronchitis in less than three days, and said designer currently had an oxygen mask, and had yet to regain consciousness; he and the other doctors were guessing the latter. They still had no idea what it was, or the symptoms, but from what they could find, it was something dramatic. Or maybe his body was fed up with getting zero Vitamin D. Words did not describe how much Dr. Winston begged for that one, because some simple vitamins or outdoors time could fix that; terminal illness, not so much.

So here he was, standing outside the door, knowing he would probably traumatize poor Adrien for the second time in a month. He looked to the window. Jumping out would get him out of this talk, but would also kill him. He weighed his options, die, or traumatize the poor child he helped bring into the world, which at this rate, would cause the kid to go into even worse shock and take him out of it. Suicide? Potential manslaughter?

Eventually, he decided suicide was not the answer. But was running away the answer? He massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He made a note in the file to assign a physiatrist to this family to tell all the bad crap. Might as well get it over with—there was a reason he already had the couch out as a bed in the event Adrien or Natalie, who obviously had a crush on her boss, went into a stupor or some shit. He opened the door and saw Natalie pacing by one side of the room, and Adrien sitting in his wheelchair, one hand holding his father's and the other fidgeting as he stared off into space. Both immediately turned when the door opened,

"How is he?" They both asked, and it took every fiber of his being to not back away and dive out that window. It was only the third floor, and humans could survive up to six…

"Umm…we…do not…know." He fidgeted with his black-rimmed glasses, "Your father seems to have gotten a new illness, because we can't track it, but it's obviously not small, as we saw rather rapid cell decay. We think…" _psychiatrist, please come to me_ , _or God, strike me down where I stand!_ "it might be terminal. But we aren't sure." He added that last part quickly. Natalie gasped, both her hands flying over her mouth. Adrien just looked confused, "Huh? Terminal?"

Goddamnit. He needed to explain this.

"Terminal illness is a disease that cannot be sufficiently treated and is… expected to result in the death of the patient." He saw Adrien lose all color in his face, so he looked back at his—he was ashamed to admit—script, "But we're only guessing! We could be wrong! For all we know, he'll be back to normal upon waking up and it's a one-time thing! It could just be the Vitamin D issue, because he never leaves the house! It might not even be fatal! Please don't go into shock."

Well…Adrien didn't go into shock…he grabbed a pillow and sob-screamed into it for a solid two minutes, not even stopping to breathe. Dr. Winston looked back to a tearing up Natalie, "We're still running tests to be sure. I cannot stress enough that we might be wrong, just get the worst possible outcome out of the way and it can only go up."

Natalie nodded, "I know. Thank you."

He didn't hesitate to book it, deciding to have a nurse care for them for the rest of their stay—because they all knew Gabriel would insist on going back to his house, and worst case being cared for there.

He really needed to move out of Paris, this place was a magnet for drama. At this rate, Ladybug or Cat Noir—wherever the hell the latter had been when the giant moth attacked—was going to get hit by a bus or something, and everyone was going to die.

He saw a nurse, Sherry, trying to give a screaming child a vaccination. Finally, something unpleasant, but normal.

…

Adrien screamed into his pillow. This was not happening. This was not happening. This was all just some fucked up dream, and he'd wake up and find the fashion show hadn't happened; or the last week hadn't happened; or maybe the fashion show had happened, and this was just a coma nightmare. Anything but this.

He continued to sob into the pillow, punching his dead legs, trying to stir a reaction, to wake up from this nightmare. His father couldn't be sick! The man was _never_ sick! And even when he was, he was still bossing everyone around like he was fine.

"Come on, father, prove them wrong. Please?"

Natalie had either gone off to compose herself, or to get food, but she wasn't in the room, so Plagg and Nooroo emerged. Nooroo looked panicked and terrified, but only Plagg noticed, but chose not to say anything about it in front of Adrien, sitting in his kitten's palm.

"Kitten, it really could be the Vitamin D thing. Seriously, I've been with you for what…? A year or two? And he has not left the house once! And the windows are usually closed. So, unless you're half-vampire, there is an issue here." He shouted into Gabriel's ear, "Come on man, be the asshole I remember!"

And of course, that stirred a reaction.

…

Gabriel woke up to a bunch of noises, and really bright light. He blinked a couple times, before focusing on Adrien, but he did notice Nooroo hiding in his son's sweatshirt, only because he had been keeping his eyes on the creature for over a year and almost had hyper senses when it came to the butterfly kwami. He looked around and saw he was in a hospital, not his house.

"What happened? What am I doing—?" He was interrupted by coughing. It felt like a weight was on his lungs, not crushing, but unpleasant. But he did feel better than he had earlier.

Adrien hugged him, "Father!" He began crying, "T-The doctor said you're sick. And it c-could be terminal! But they also said it could be last of Vitamin D, because apparently your situation is like mine: nobody knows. But you are going to at least go into the garden, please."

Oh lord, was it really bad enough to immediately be considered terminal? He's thought it would be progressive, bad to worse to shit to coma/dead. Guess not. He realized he had to hurry, there was no point to dying if his sacrifice didn't bring Emilie back.

If he could get out of this situation, he would, gladly, but the entire reason he became Hawk Moth was to get Emilie back, that way their family could be happy, and Adrien could have a mother; family came before everything; the only reason he had let Adrien be in danger before, not that he liked it, was because he had thought Ladybug's Miraculous Ladybug would solve any problem. But with that idea blown out of the water, he needed to keep Adrien safe and happy at all costs.

By no means was he giving up, he was actually more determined than ever, but he was on even more borrowed time than he had originally thought. Maybe it was because he was using it for evil? Who knew. Still, this was bad.

"Adrien, it's okay, son. You won't be rid of me that easily." He smiled at bit as Adrien calmed, before Gabriel glaring at the door, "And can I go home now? This bed is quite uncomfortable, and if I truly do have something terminal, then being here won't do anything other than give me a back ache."

Adrien chuckled, "If you're judging, then you're fine."

He wasn't fine, but he'd pretend to be, for Adrien.

OoOoO

They went back home the next morning, Adrien going straight to school while Gabriel went home—and he had paid Gorilla extra to force the man outside to ensure he got Vitamin D, because that had always been a problem even before.

The day went about as they had the last two days, but today Adrien couldn't focus on anything but his father's condition.

During the lunch break, Nino went to go get then some pizza, when Marinette approached him,

"Adrien…I know you probably hate this question, but you've seemed upset today. Are you alright?"

Adrien looked up at her, "Oh…it's just…my father's sick, like, might be terminally ill. I'm hoping this will pass, but just my luck." He teared up, but felt Marinette's arms wrap around him. He melted into the embrace, glad she was more comfortable around him.

"He'll be fine Adrien," She promised, "Just you wait and see. I won't tell you everything will be alright, because I would assume those words are hollow at this point, but we will get through all of this, together." She smiled, earning a smile from Adrien as well,

"Thank you, Mari."

OoOoO

Gabriel tried to get some work done, but was hit with a dizzy spell every ten to fifteen minutes, leaving him unable to focus. This was not going like he had expected, it wasn't supposed to hit so hard so fast, just a gradual thing so he'd have time to get his affairs in order and get Emilie back for Adrien.

Natalie walked in to find him once again on the ground, sipping some water slowly,

"Sir, let me help you."

"I'm fine Natalie."

"No, you're not. Sir, you're death pale and swaying, you need to get some rest." She bent down beside him, and Gabriel didn't have the strength to fight her as she helped him up and to his room.

She laid him down on the bed, as he was already wearing more casual clothes. She brushed his hair out of his face, "Just get some rest. I'll get you some medication tomorrow." He reluctantly closed his eyes and fell asleep, unsure if he was hallucinating when he felt lips on his forehead and Natalie mutter,

"Please get better…I love you sir."

 **A/N: Oh god…I ship Natalie and Gabriel so hard it hurts, so naturally I will be adding elements of that. Also, the reason the illness is working so fast is because he is using it for evil, while in** _ **Mayura**_ **, Natalie was using it to protect someone, which could go either way.**

 **Next chapter will be Nooroo and Plagg having a very serious talk.**

 **Carly/N: When that chapter will be? Who knows, but hopefully Paula will get over her flu soon and update. This is the one perk of two sisters sharing an account.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So…sorry about the hiatus for both my stories, school is being a piece of shit (that's no excuse, Carly's in high school and she does it, I'm just a middle schooler). But it's winter break, and I've had a lot of time to think about this. Hope you all enjoy.**

 **Oh, and as a clarifier, Sandboy happened before Style Queen in this story—thank you no distinct order.**

 **Chapter 5**

Papillon sat in his room, fiddling with his Tenshi. He had never been the artistic type when it came to these things, so he let the people he was…asking for assistance—There wasn't a word for it yet, because akumatize sounded evil, and tenshize didn't sound right—he let them design their own name and suit, and he'd just supply power. In exchange, the person would spread the word that Hawk Moth and Papillon were not one in the same. Nadja Chamack wanted an interview, but that was kind of difficult with the whole unable to walk situation. Maybe he could grant Chloe powers or something, she was gradually becoming a good person—gradually was an understatement, less bitchy was more accurate—but then she'd know…and he didn't want to bother Nino too much.

The current person he was granting powers to called herself Angel and was supplying food, clothing and other things to the homeless shelters. Her suit was a white dress with angel wings. Ladybug was all over this, and he could do it at the drop of a hat because his Miraculous alerted him when someone wanted to help others.

" _Thank you, Papillon."_

"No problem. Have a good day." The Tenshi left her and flew back into his hand as he detransformed. Nooroo emerged,

"Were you pleased by the results?"

"Yup! Now go eat up, Nooroo, I got plenty of lettuce for you." The look on Nooroo's face was so happy and shocked, that Adrien's heart hurt. Nooroo was no sweet, why would anyone hurt him? He used the joystick to move over there with his kwamis.

That was one other update, his mobile wheelchair was here! And with the combined efforts of Alya and Chloe there was a ramp up the stairs at the school. An elevator was being installed as well, score. Still, the wheelchair could fold up—harder, but it could—so carrying it wasn't impossible. He didn't want to be a hassle, but people enjoyed helping him, and he was pretty much the beacon for Heroes' Day good deeds, which was annoying with everyone coddling him. Marinette brought food for the class, and that, in Adrien's mind, was a true hero. Hawk Moth—or publicly known as Mayur via letter, because the new made up names for him were getting dirty—hadn't attacked either. He was probably trying to figure out his powers, so nobody thought he had given up, otherwise he would have upon giving Adrien the Butterfly Miraculous.

The only bad thing was—well, his legs weren't working still, but that was almost normal at this point—his father hadn't gotten better. He hadn't gotten worse, but he was still weaker and paler than normal. But they did spend more time together as father and son instead of co-workers.

"Is that lettuce alright, Nooroo, I can find another brand."

"No, this is amazing Adrien." Nooroo was inhaling it faster than Plagg ate cheese.

Natalie came in and Adrien shut the drawer he kept the food in. Nooroo mentioned being afraid of the dark, so he had a small light in there.

"Adrien, dinner's ready."

"Coming." He made his way to the dining room and saw his father there, and he looked better today, not wearing sweats and gelled his hair back. That was good, he was still a few shades closer to grey than he would like, but it was a start.

"I see you're feeling better, Dad." That was another update, he could refer to his father as 'Dad' like he used to before his mother's disappearance. Maybe that was a perk to the loss of his legs, his relationship with his father was improving. There was a small voice in the back of his head that told him his father was trying to set things right in the event the illness really was terminal, but he did everything he could to shut that voice up.

"Yes. About time this illness passes, it's getting in the way of work and life." He smiled, "How was your day?"

"It was good. School was uneventful, I got an A on that history test, Nino was wondering if I could go over to his place this weekend."

"How about he come here? You've gone over there many times, and this mansion is too big for two people."

Adrien beamed, "Really?" Gabriel nodded, so Adrien moved his wheelchair over and hugged him, "Thank you!"

OoOoO

Plagg and Nooroo emerged from the drawer for some light. Plagg sent him a sad look,

"Hey, I know you and I haven't gotten much time alone, and this is one of the first times you're separate from Adrien. I needed to ask you, are you okay?" He wasn't just cheese-obsessed, he cared about his brothers and sisters, and his kittens—but that went without saying, and he would never dare voice it—so he had noticed Nooroo look uneasy, and cry when in the dark, shocked when there's food. Abusers of their power were a light topic, a topic Plagg knew all too well as not two hundred years prior, he had been on the receiving end of this talk from Tikki.

Amelia Dyer, one of his first female wielders. Well, he was pretty sure the guardian at the time—which was not Fu—was drunk as hell or the ring had been stolen. It was England, the United Kingdom, in 1876. Amelia would adopt unwanted babies in exchange for money, not so bad, but then she started murdering the babies either out of negligence or strangling them…or using Plagg's power to use Cataclysm on them, either to hide the body or kill them. Using him, she was responsible for the deaths of at least 400 infants in her care. She threw enough in the river to get caught when he was too weak to move, let alone fuel a transformation. It all ended April 3rd, 1896, when she was caught and Jade Turtle—Master Fu as a youth—found him and returned him to the Miracle Box.

Even thinking about her made him sick, and Adrien was his first wielder since then, so he had been scared, really scared. So, he decided to try annoying him so he, Plagg, wouldn't get attached, and maybe Adrien would give him back. But Adrien had been what he needed after that. He was sweet, loving, kind, and gave him freedom. Nooroo and Duusu had already been gone when he was returned to the box, so Nooroo didn't know, but hearing his younger brother had gone through that was a punch to the gut.

Nooroo blinked at him, "Huh?"

"Hawk Moth…I know it's been three weeks since he let you go, but are you okay? Talk to me, I'll listen."

Nooroo remained silent for a moment, before bursting into tears and clinging to Plagg, "No. Every moment I fear he'll came back for me. Adrien's so kind, and I'm afraid he might get hurt again. And even when the sun's not up, I'm terrified of being in the dark, that lair has no light. I couldn't leave a few feet of him and couldn't communicate with anyone besides him. He even forced my mouth out of existence as a joke! And I told him the transformation cue. I should be locked up forever!"

Plagg stroked his head, "It wasn't your fault. I understand what you went through, my power was abused, and I was forced to kill babies. You blame yourself, but you need to remember we are the slave of our owner. Adrien knows that, I told him after a while because he asked why you would help him, and he promised me on his mother's assumed grave that he will never ever do that. That doesn't change the past, but Adrien isn't Hawk Moth, nor is he Amelia, he's a fool in love with freedom. He will take care of you, and nobody blames you. I went to the Miracle Box last week, and everyone was thrilled to hear you were safe, we're your family, and we will always be here for you."

"Thank you, Plagg, thank you." The butterfly kwami's breath evened out and Plagg placed a dry washcloth—kwami equivalent to a blanket—over him and kissed his forehead.

"Sweet dreams, little brother." He waited for Adrien to come back, and when he didn't, Plagg panicked and went in search of his kitten, only to find him sleeping with his father.

Plagg's feelings of Gabriel were mixed. He used to see the fashion designer as just a piece of shit, but the man had been being a normal father to Adrien and taking time out of his day to spend with his son. While he could not deny the neglect that had been there, Adrien was so happy. Plagg could just worry about what would happen if the neglect returned, when Adrien's paralysis became normal. The poor thing would be a wreck.

Plagg sighed, might as well enjoy it while it lasts, but he would be here when or if Adrien got his heart broken.

 **A/N: This chapter revolves around Plagg and Nooroo for the most part, I was going to add other things, but this deserved a chapter of its own to me. Amelia Dyer is a real person, look her up if you don't believe me. Next chapter will be out before the end of the break (Monday). Though updates will be irregular with finals coming up. I do not know how Carly manages it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Trying to get this chapter out before things get crazy again. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 6**

Another day, they were back at school. Only things were different, specifically the seating chart. Nino helped Adrien out of the wheelchair and onto the bench, then sat with Alya.

"Where's Marinette gonna sit?" Adrien asked. Alya pointed to the back. "Shouldn't we wait for her and ask if she wants to? What's going on?"

"Well since she's got a hearing issue, there's no way she can sit at the back of the class, right? Which means she needed a place up in the front." Nathanael said.

"So, to make it work," Alya added on, "Ivan sat next to Mylène, Nate sat next to Alix, besides she came up with the idea of moving Nino here, so now we get to spend more time together."

Adrien frowned, "Who?"

Marinette scrambled in and was equally startled by the seating chart. She asked Alya what was going on and, as predicted, wasn't happy about the seating chart.

Miss Bustier came in, "Good morning, students. I'm sure you've all heard by now, but Lila's home from her trip to Achu and she's back in school with us again."

Lila waved, "Hi everyone. Oh, a seat in the front row! You all remembered my hearing issue! You're such sweethearts, all of you." She blew kisses and sat in her new seat, moving closer to Adrien than he found comfortable.

"You have a hearing problem, Lila?" Marinette did not seem convinced. To be fair, Adrien wasn't convinced either, remembering the last time he had seen Lila, when she lied to him about being friends with Ladybug—and it seemed Ladybug hated her guts because of it.

"Yes, I suffer from tinnitus, a constant ringing in my left ear. I'd had it ever since the sound of an airplane engine burst my eardrum on the runaway when I was saving Jagged Stone's lost kitten." While trying to find a cure for his legs, Adrien did run into what tinnitus was, and Lila had it right, but the Jagged Stone's kitten part was ludicrous.

"Isn't Jagged Stone's pet a crocodile?" Thank you, Marinette. He wanted to try giving Lila a chance, but even he was ready to ask that question.

"Now it is, yes. But he had a kitten until he found out he was allergic to it. The best part is, since you're such an excellent student Adrien, you'll be able to help me catch up with all the schoolwork I missed while I was traveling with my parents. Would you do that for me?" She brushed her hand on his shoulder and it made the hair on the back of Adrien's neck stand on end.

"S-Sure Lila." _Help._

Marinette frowned, "Miss Bustier, why do I have to sit in the back now?"

"Do you have any trouble hearing or seeing Marinette?"

"Uh, I...I..."

Not wanting his friend to be upset, and somewhat desperate to get away from Lila, Adrien spoke up, "My eyesight and hearing are good. I'll sit in the back of the class and you two can sit up front. I don't mind."

Marinette and Lila both looked alarmed, "No!"

Lila stood up, "My return is causing so much trouble, maybe I should have just stayed on the other side of the world. If Marinette has an issue too, then I should be the one to go and sit in the back. It's okay. Adrien, I know you can't walk, I don't want to make things difficult for you." The reminder of his injury stung, people had finally stopped bringing it up and hearing that Lila—even though since Volpina had been around for the Heroes' Day—knew about that reminded him that it was all over the news how helpless and weak he was now. He had Nooroo and Plagg, but as Adrien Agreste, he couldn't do anything. Papillon could make a difference, Adrien could not.

Marinette tensed, before relenting, "I don't actually have any trouble seeing or hearing. I mean..."

"Good, so there's no problem then. You sit here Lila, Adrien you stay where you are and Marinette you sit in the back row." Marinette reluctantly went to the back and if Adrien could walk, he a suspicion he'd join her, because Lila was touching his leg and he could see it in his peripheral vision even if he couldn't feel it.

Miss Bustier clapped her hands, "Open your books to page 23."

This was gonna be a long day.

OoOoO

"That's for you, Lila."

"Thank you, you're so sweet."

"Here's your appetizer, Lila."

"I've got your main course."

"I'll fetch your dessert."

Lila grinned to all of them, "I'm sorry I can't carry my own tray. It's almost impossible with this sprained wrist."

Adrien had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, they weren't hovering around _him_ , and that was a relief, on the other hand, Lila's story was horseshit.

Marinette clearly agreed on that statement as the two of them plus Nino and Alya made their way to a separate table, "Lila's totally lying, she made up that whole tinnitus story just so she could sit next to Adrien, and her sprained wrist's completely bogus, too."

Alya frowned, "I don't get it, Marinette. You barely know Lila. Why all the hate?" That was a good question, because only himself and Ladybug ever got proof on that.

Marinette sighed, "Fine, I'll tell you everything. You remember Lila when she first came to school right after the summer break? She was only here for one day and then she left on that 'round-the-world trip. Everyone was captivated by her. Something just felt off to me. So, I followed her."

"What?" Came from everyone. Adrien did not remember seeing Marinette, only Ladybug. Could she be…probably not, knowing Marinette, she was probably behind a tree or something and left when Ladybug arrived so as to not get caught.

Nino raised an eyebrow, "Wait, you eavesdropped on Lila and Adrien?"

"So, you heard what Ladybug said." Adrien said. Marinette nodded.

Alya looked between the two of them, "What did Ladybug say?"

"She proved it was a lie and they hadn't even met." Marinette said before Adrien could react. He wanted to give Lila a chance, but it seemed Marinette did not, and she knew just as much. She continued, "I also saw her take your book, Adrien, and I threw myself under the bus to get it back to you, so you could go to school." Wow. Had Marinette really done that? That was so brave...and heroic…what was going on in his head?! He was in love with Ladybug! But Marinette was willing to sacrifice her dream, so he could go to school— _shut up brain! You and your confusing emotions!_

"I'll explain to my father." Adrien said, "I shouldn't have taken it without permission, but Dad holds grudges. He likes you, but I want to be sure."

Marinette looked startled, but happy; Nino and Alya looked like they won the lottery.

"So, Lila's lying." Alya said after a moment, "What do we do?"

"Expose her!" Marinette encouraged.

Adrien shook his head, "Do you really think exposing her will make things better? If you humiliate her, she'll just be hurt more. Making a bad guy suffer has never turned them into a good guy."

"So, we just stand by and let her lie?!"

Adrien shrugged, "As long as the four of us know the truth, does it really matter?"

Marinette looked towards Lila spinning another tall tale, "You're right, maybe it's not such a big deal."

OoOoO

After lunch, Adrien was about to grab his stuff for class when Lila came up behind him.

"Hey, Lila."

"Adrien, we'll have to figure when you're gonna help me catch up on all the schoolwork I missed. I also heard you play piano, my uncle's the great pianist Chuch Boroughchuck. He wanted to teach me when I was little, but I had to stop playing because of arthritis. But when my wrist gets better, I'd love for you to give me some lessons." Arthritis? Really? Wasn't it supposed to be a sprained wrist? She could simply ask for lessons.

"Lila, I'm perfectly happy being friends with you, and I'll gladly help you catch with your schoolwork, but please don't lie to me like you did last time with Ladybug."

Lila suddenly got angry, "Ladybug's the liar." No, she really wasn't. In fact, Ladybug had made it clear she hated liars.

"I'm not judging you, Lila, but instead of making friends, you're going to turn everyone against you. You can tell me if something's bothering you. I can help. But you need to be honest with me."

Lila backed up, looking down at him, "Are you trying to be some superhero lecturing me just like Ladybug did? Well thanks, but no thanks." She stormed off.

"I'm still here if you need help catching up with your schoolwork."

…

Mayur was chilling in his lair. It had been over three weeks, if he spaced things out, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. And there were less chances of Adrien getting caught in the crossfire. Still, he found paying attention exhausted him faster, so he just let the feather float around until he felt someone grab it.

" _Hawk Moth, or Mayur now, I am Lila. I know you want to destroy Ladybug and so do I."_

Lila? Score! She didn't want to hurt Adrien, just Ladybug, and that was just fine. Golden, really.

"Yes, I remember you."

" _Give me supervillain powers and I'll give you her and Cat Noir's Miraculous."_

"I don't do that anymore, but I can give you a protector that will achieve your goal. It will still fulfil your whim."

" _Perfect."_ Next to Lila was a black and gold fox.

…

Adrien was about to leave the locker room when Lila forced him back in,

"Adrien, I wanted to apologize for what just happened. I've thought about it and you're right. I want us to be friends, so I'll never tell another lie again. Will you make peace with me?" A large fox came in and she walked to the door, "Whoops, I lied." She left and locked the locker room door. The fox growled and lunged. Adrien was barely able to get out of the wheelchair and pull himself to the far side of the room, but the fox noticed and pounced on him.

This was it, he was gonna die. And he couldn't stop it.

…

Mayur was brought from his thinking about nothing in particular, when he heard his son cry out in his mind, and he noticed the fox was on top of Adrien, ready to kill him.

Not again, Adrien would not get hurt again. "Nope." He renounced the guardian and detransformed. He fell to the ground as a jolt of vertigo hit him and he coughed, but it wasn't as bad as the first time. Maybe because he had renounced it instead of it being destroyed. That was interesting to know.

That did not mean he didn't feel very crappy or didn't need rest. Adrien was safe, but before he cared for himself, he would call to ensure his son's safety.

…

The fox vanished just before it struck the killing blow. Adrien looked up in wonder. Behind where the fox had been was Plagg, Cataclysm in hand.

"Plagg, did you kill it?"

Plagg shook his head, "I was about to. But then it just vanished."

Nooroo emerged, "Remember what the note said, that no harm would come to you. It seems he was true to his word."

"Yeah, can't say the same for the wheelchair though." The wheelchair was busted. Back to the non-mobile one and being pushed around. Lovely.

He felt a pang of despair flow through him. That thing could have killed him, and he was too useless to stop it. He couldn't run, and he couldn't have fought it off. He really was just a nobody.

He didn't notice he had been crying or that his kwamis had nuzzled themselves against him until the sound of a door unlocking and Nino ran in, "Adrien! We heard Lila screaming about Mayur attacking you with a fox!"

"S-She tried to kill me…and I was too useless to stop it!" He cried into Nino's shirt, "I want to go home…"

Nino looked to the busted wheelchair and picked his friend up, "Okay, I'll take you home."

As they were leaving the courtyard, everyone noticed and began asking if he was okay. Adrien saw Marinette through his teary vision, and she looked extremely guilty and angry.

Mr. Damocles stopped Nino on the way out, "The school day isn't over yet, Mr. Lahiffe."

"Pardon me dude—I mean sir—but I'm just taking Adrien back to the mansion. Wheelchair's broken and he almost got killed again, and this time in school where we're supposed to be _safe_. I think Mr. Agreste would be fine with him going home after an experience like that." Adrien found himself impressed Nino was standing up for him, and thankful he had such an amazing friend.

"Uh—alright. But be back before the next break ends."

"Of course." Nino walked to the mansion like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Thanks, Nino."

"No problem. If I were almost killed, I'd wanna go home too. Why didn't you turn into Papillon and call for my help?"

"I didn't have time. The thing was already on me and by the time I could have, it would have been too late." He sighed, "Just proves I'm worthless if I need to call for help every time I'm in trouble."

"Adrien, it's okay to need help. You've helped so many people, we're just eager to return the favor. I talked to our classmates after the Heroes' Day, and they all just want to help and make things easier for you, they don't see you as weak. Hell, they see you as the strongest of us all, putting up with an injury and still going about your day as normally as possible."

They made it back to the mansion and Natalie immediately alerted Gabriel, who rushed out the door, leaning on the doorway and blinking as vertigo clearly hit.

"Adrien!" He helped his son off Nino's back and hugged him tightly, "I heard what happened! Are you alright? Do I need to call the doctor? Get some rest."

"Dad, I'm physically fine. Just a little apprehensive."

Gabriel frowned, before sighing in relief, "As it should be." He looked in Nino's direction, "Um…you're Nino, right? You may stay or go, whichever."

Nino paused, "May I stay with Adrien? Never know if Mayur could attack again, and I'll do anything to help him."

Gabriel nodded his approval, "I'll call the school and your parents." He left and Nino helped Adrien up the stairs and to his room, sitting him back in the normal wheelchair.

"It seems your Dad doesn't hate me." Nino mused, remembering when he asked about a birthday party and it led to an akumatization.

"No, he never hated you, just disapproved. But you helping me through this has upped his opinion of you."

Nino shrugged, "So win win." He pulled out a salad, "I forgot Mom packed this for me. Nooroo, do you want it?"

Nooroo emerged from Adrien's jacket, "Yes please." He began eating and handed the small pieces of cheese to Plagg. Adrien chuckled,

"Thanks bro."

"Wanna go send off a Tenshi? I want to see how it works."

"Yeah! I need something to distract myself." Adrien looked to his kwamis, "Would that be okay?"

Nooroo nodded, "Yup."

OoOoO

Natalie helped Gabriel to his room as exhaustion threatened to claim him.

"Well, I recommend renouncing instead of destroying from now on." She said, "Because you're ill, but not as bad." She gave him some water.

"Thank you, Natalie." And he was asleep again.

OoOoO

Marinette threw her backpack across the room with a shriek, "Not again!" Tikki sat on the bed as her chosen began to cry, "I failed him again! He almost died, and I didn't transform to try saving him! He's my best friend, my partner, and I let him down _again_!"

"Marinette, you didn't even know it was happening until Nino had already rushed in."

"But I should have been the first one there. How could I have ever loved him if I don't move heaven and earth when he's in danger? What if Mayur hadn't renounced it? Adrien would be dead and Ladybug would have done nothing! That's more evidence for Lila to use."

Tikki sat in Marinette's palm, "Please, go check on him if you're so upset. He still loves Ladybug, so he'll understand. It did happen really fast. And I'd bet he'd love to see you in person."

She nodded a bit, wiping tears from her eyes, "Okay. Tikki, spots on!"

 **A/N: Chameleon based. I'm hoping to get another chapter out soon, but I have a ton of projects due. Fingers crossed I don't go on another long hiatus for this story. Send me more ideas for Tenshis and who they should be.**

 **And I'm using the guardians as spirit animals almost, because I have no idea how they work, and this is a fanfiction, where I can guess.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm back! I know, it's been forever. I should probably explain.**

 **It started with the flu, then I got the role of Jane Banks in the Mary Poppins school play, and then my family and I moved to Arizona! Also, I wanted to see more of Mayura's powers, and now we do!**

 **So sorry this chapter is shorter and has a time-jump…forgive me? I'm not my now-homeschooled sister, I have a life.**

 **And I am again using one of my sister's OCs, this time it's the blind Roxas Sommers! No superpowers though. The Sommers family exists, but no powers.**

 **And the official term for Mayura's feathers is "Amok" so…thumbs up.**

 **Chapter 7**

In the months that had passed since Style Queen, Adrien had learned of many things. Such as Mayur's monsters were called sentimonsters, and he also came out onto the field from time to time.

Ladybug had seemed very pleased with the Tenshis he sent her. He wanted to tell her his secret identity, but knew that it was a bad idea.

Nino was again with him as he sent out a Tenshi. His DJ best friend was by far his greatest human support—other than his father, because Gabriel was getting sicker and sicker as the days went by—and loved to draw designs for him to use. Nino practically lived at the mansion, and also delivered him to an interview with Nadja Chamack.

The story was that Chat Noir got hit by a bus from behind as a civilian, because bus drivers around here were known for hitting people without the superhero assistance. The Butterfly Miraculous was being used by someone else, but was letting Chat borrow it for that night to make things easier to explain.

Adrien also had to bless Alya, who went to talk to the mayor and got handicap assistance installed in the school, so he could get around on his own.

Lila still scared him after she tried to kill him, but she still kept flirting! She even tried to say he cried over an A- on a math test so she could snoop around his room. God bless Natalie for having 'scheduled' time with his father. Since Gabriel was so sick, there was no scheduling, but Lila didn't need to know that.

The thought of his ailing father made Adrien's mood darken. He had been getting so much better, but then he just collapsed and Dr. Winston revealed his illness was getting worse and he had to be on bedrest for the most part. Gabriel still insisted he was fine, but the pale complexion and coughing betrayed him.

"Adrien!" Marinette came over a few minutes before the bell rang, "My parents and I were making croissants yesterday and I made some extra for you." Marinette was also much more comfortable around him. From time to time, he would see a guilty expression on her face, and he didn't know why, but she was no longer stuttering around him.

"Thanks Mari!" Adrien took the croissants. Marinette smiled warmly, and Adrien could feel Lila glaring from the backseat as the baker spoke,

"Adrien, you love my baked goods so much, my parents were wondering if you wanted to come over this weekend and we can teach you how to make it yourself." Adrien brightened,

"That sounds awesome! Let me just ask my Dad." Miss Bustier came in, with a teenage boy behind her,

"Class, I have great news. We have a new student."

The boy had bright blue eyes and golden blonde hair. His hair was spiky, as the front concentrated the spikes on the right side of his head as if windswept, while the back was smoother and more flaky. He wore a black, high-collared jacket over which he wore another jacket, this one unzipped and white, with a grey hem on the end of each sleeve. This jacket's collar was red and pleated and folded back. He had dark blue jeans, and his shoes were colored in shades of grey and black, and had red straps in place of laces.

His most memorable feature was his violet eyes, which were clouded over. He smiled and waved sheepishly,

"Hello everyone. I'm Roxas Sommers. This is my first time in public school. It's nice to meet all of you!" Everyone greeted him and Miss Bustier grinned,

"Okay, Chloe, can you move to the back with Lila?" Chloe glared.

"Why? Need I remind you who my Daddy is?" Miss Bustier opened her mouth as though to explain, but Roxas's panicked expression made the teacher shut up. Alya raised a hand,

"I'll go sit it in the back so Roxas can sit next to Marinette." She said, "Besides, Marinette is one of the best people to be with when you're new."

"Thank you." Roxas said, and Adrien noticed he was touching the desk almost in guidance, but still stumbled on the step. While kids in this class used to laugh at kids who tripped, Adrien's handicap got that out of them, so Nino just got up and helped the new student.

"Hey bro, I'm Nino." Roxas brightened,

"Hello Nino!" Lila stepped down and picked up the book Roxas had dropped,

"Braille?" She gasped in fake pity, "You're blind?" Everyone gasped in shock except Adrien. Roxas bowed his head,

"Yeah, I'm blind, does that disappoint you?" Adrien scooted closer to Roxas and put a hand on his shoulder,

"Nah. So what if you have vision issues? Doesn't make you any worse than the rest of us, just different." Roxas looked really happy and had a teary expression.

"Mom was right, this will be fun. I'm glad to be in a class with you guys."

OoOoO

Lunch came, and Adrien went to go search for Roxas, to ask if the new kid wanted to join him for food. The new elevator made this so much faster and he could do it on his own.

Instead, he saw Roxas arguing with a girl.

The girl had bright blue eyes and a curvy build, with chocolate brown hair that she draped across her left shoulder, rosy cheeks, and pale, pink lips. She wore a white dress that ended at her thighs in an embroidered lace pattern, a grey cardigan, grey leggings, and light blue sandals decorated with yellow flowers.

"Aelin, please!" Roxas begged, taking his backpack, "I can do it myself! Just because I can't see like you do doesn't mean I can't do what you can! I want to help people just as much as you do!"

"I know…" Aelin said quietly, "But Dad asked me to look out for you."

"I don't need to be protected! I'm not using the stupid cane either!" He stormed off and Adrien followed, relieved at electric wheelchair #2 having some speed to it.

"Roxas!" Roxas turned,

"Adrien? What is it?"

"My friends and I were wondering if you wanted to join us." He looked to where Aelin was watching, "Who's the girl?" He assumed she was Roxas's sister, but he didn't want to assume.

"She's my twin." Roxas replied bitterly, "But I don't want to talk to her right now. What did you say about lunch?"

"Oh, Mari brought food and we wondered if you wanted to join."

"I'd like that."

They made it back to the group, and Marinette started up conversation,

"You said you wanted to help people when in History." She said, "How would you help?"

"Well…" Roxas rubbed the back on his neck, "I really want to help people who are disabled. I hate how people like me are treated like we're helpless when society doesn't often do anything to make us any less so. I don't know how I would do it, but my life goal is equality between us all."

Adrien's heart warmed, "I understand how you feel. Since you're new, you probably didn't know, but I've been paralyzed for almost a year." 347 days he had been paralyzed, yet it felt like an eternity, "And there are still people who treat me like I'll shatter at any moment. I want to help you." If there was anyone worthy of a Tenshi, Roxas was that person. Maybe he would start using him instead of defaulting to Nino when in doubt.

Then the ground started to rumble underneath them.

Meanwhile

"Sir, please reconsider." Natalie begged as Gabriel tried to get out of bed, "Emilie can wait, you're still recovering!"

"No…" Gabriel coughed up some blood into a tissue, "I need those Miraculouses, Natalie. I've reached the point where I'm not going to recover. I need to do this. Please Natalie…help me walk." Natalie let a tear fall down her cheek, knowing there was no dissuading him. So she put an arm around her shoulder and helped him to the observatory.

"Duusu…transform me…" Gabriel transformed into Mayur and stood tall, smiling to Natalie, before hopping out the window.

Mayur hopped from roof to roof, looking for someone to Amokitize, eventually settling on a child crying about not getting some sort of dragon toy.

Shit. If he did this, it could push him past his limits. But then again, a dragon plus Mayur himself could get the Miraculous! It was worth it. Emilie would be back and things would be okay.

He plucked a feather from his fan, "Fly away my beautiful Amok." He sent it off and a giant dragon appeared and started setting things on fire. He made sure to send an order to it to not go near Adrien or places Adrien could be. Then he used his fan to call the Gorilla to send Adrien back home. He learned his lesson with Style Queen, and wasn't going to risk it again, especially with an actually dangerous sentimonster.

He sighed, "I hope this works."

OoOoO

Adrien was plopped onto his bed by Gorilla, who ran off. Nooroo and Plagg emerged,

"How about Roxas?" Nooroo asked, "He seems worthy!"

"Couldn't agree more." Adrien said, wheeling over to the window, "Nooroo, wings rise!" He transformed and looked down at Plagg—who was sitting on his leg—"What should I do for Roxas?" Plagg flew over to Nino's file of drawings, relieved his kitten was adjusting to his new life, and was safe from direct harm.

"How about this?" Papillon nodded in approval, and sent a Tenshi to Roxas, touching a ring on the blind boy's hand.

"Phoenix, I am Papillon." He said, "I will give you the power to help others, and in return you must help Ladybug protect Paris from the Sentimonster."

 _"_ _Deal!"_ Roxas transformed and flew off. Papillon smiled,

"Go my champion, protect my lady, protect your city!"

 **A/N: I promise there won't be another months long hiatus. But remember to review if you want it to be sooner!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: And I am back at a reasonable time! Yay! I loved the reviews, and that made me work harder.**

 **I also love all the support for disabled people. If any of you have a disability, don't be ashamed and let me know, and I can add a character like that. My biggest issue with this show is the lack of disabled people and I want to express people like that.**

 **Also, Chloe never became Queen Bee in this story, so Queen Bee will not appear.**

 **Chapter 8**

Ladybug fought against the dragon with the help of Rena Rouge and Carapace. But while the two were helpful, she was looking around for Papillon's Tenshi, because those always helped faster.

She was not disappointed, as a boy came down, and she was able to identify him as Roxas.

He wore a fiery red and orange bodysuit with pockets at his stomach, which has a black turtleneck. His mask was red at the top, and orange at the bottom, and it had small black circles at the corners. His underarms had fiery feathers like phoenix wings.

"Hey guys." He said, "I'm Phoenix." He flew up to the dragon and started battling it.

Mayur jumped down to them from the building he was on.

"Mayur…" Ladybug sneered. Mayur shrugged,

"You can stop this damage." He said, "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Then why would you do this? You're clearly a strong fighter, why not join us?" Mayur's expression darkened,

"I would if I could, Ladybug. But it's too late for me. I'm living on borrowed time, and I need yours and Chat Noir's Miraculous so I can make sure my family is okay after I'm gone." Ladybug froze. Of all the times they had spoken, this was a new revelation.

"This is all for your family?" Mayur then took her stunned pause to attack her. Ladybug dodged the fan's hits as they jumped onto a building, "Wouldn't your family want you to remain good?"

"My wife already succumbed to the same illness I have." Mayur explained, "Our child will be an orphan unless I can save my wife!"

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Ladybug pleaded, "If you had just told us—"

"Then what?" He reached for her earrings and she barely blocked it, "I had to become a villain to bring you out, and now I've paralyzed an innocent boy. I'm already beyond saving, so I have to take them by force!" He flipped over her, grabbing her shoulders, and pinned her to the ground, "I hope you can forgive me, Ladybug. I will make sure you get your Miraculous returned to you when I'm done."

"Don't do this." Ladybug begged, "There's a price to the wish. Bring your wife back and your child could die!" Mayur removed one of the earrings,

"Ladybug, don't you see? I have the same illness my wife did. One parent for another. I'm going to die anyway, so might as well use it to save my beloved." He went to remove the other earring when Phoenix came crashing between them, the butterfly symbol over his eyes as he snatched the earring and tossed it to Ladybug.

"Thanks Phoenix." Ladybug said, and winked, "Thanks mon petite papillon. Go take care of the dragon." Phoenix nodded, but turned to Mayur first,

"Thank you, sir, for being the first thing I ever see. For being the reason I get to be a hero." Then he flew off. Mayur smiled sadly,

"At least I brought joy to one person in my miserable life."

Ladybug could feel the tension and hear the intensity in his tone. There was a great deal of emotion behind the words he was speaking. And then she did something new. Instead of waiting for a disaster to unfold and then stress, she calmed herself and think of where her usual responses took her at these times. All she could do was try to make a new and hopefully better choice and see what unfolded.

"Hawk Moth, I accept and understand how you came to feel this way." She said, addressing him by the villain name she had known for so long, "And in your shoes, I would feel the same. You want to save what is left of your family, but I need to save Paris. I can forgive you for everything except what happened to Adrien," she sighed, "If you can forgive me. Lucky Charm!" The baton appeared in her hand as the flames engulfed more of the city. She knew she could fix the damage, but now she needed to beat Mayur. But she couldn't help but wish this could be different.

She held the baton even, a perfect, undaunted horizon; leveled with the nose, just as Chat Noir had taught her on patrol occasionally. It had been almost a year since she saw his cheerful expression, and god she missed it. She had chickened out of checking on Adrien as Ladybug, because every time she looked at him, she was reminded of her failure in saving him. It was easier to handle as Marinette, but damn near impossible as Ladybug.

She stalled Mayur's strike, but watched a broken, self-loathing expression appear on his face as her baton shivered under the brutality of his compelling strength. The baton flashed as she brought it over his head and hummed a low, swift tune.

Mayur dodged expertly, showing off that he knew very well how to fight. She wanted to convince him to join them. They could take care of his child and find a cure for this illness he had, he couldn't bring his wife back, but they could save him if he was healthy here. But she knew he was beyond persuading, as his expression changed to one of grim determination.

Just then, Carapace came up from behind and grabbed Mayur's arms.

"This is for my friend!" He went to grab the brooch, but Mayur head-butted him and flipped out of the turtle hero's grasp, dodging Rena as well.

"I really am sorry."

Meanwhile

The first thing Phoenix had ever seen was the flames of Paris, and then Mayur. Roxas had been born completely blind, so he couldn't see a thing. He was a little bummed he wouldn't have time to look at his face. He didn't know that the Miraculous only granted him a tiny bit of sight, nothing near what normal people had, but it was still wonderful for him.

He also loved his new powers. Flight and fire! And Cataclysm! He was pretty sure he had died and gone to heaven. He couldn't wait to tell his Mom about this! She would be so proud of him.

His mother was the only person who didn't treat him differently because his was blind. His older brother, Felix, said it was because she blamed herself for it since there was an incident with the pregnancy, but Roxas didn't care about that. She would be proud of him for being a hero.

He loved his Dad and siblings as well, but they all treated him like he was weak, crippled. He wasn't. As Adrien had said, he was just different.

So he was having the time of his life dramatically battling a giant dragon as it terrorized the city. It was like those books he read…or rather felt because they were in Braille, but still! And now he could identify colors, so he could imagine the things he imagined in stories even better! Even if he was never selected by Papillon, he would still be forever in the Butterfly-Hero's debt for giving him this chance to prove himself.

"Sonic Blast!" He shouted, and wind shot out of his hands alongside ice, freezing and shattering one of the dragon's wings, bringing it crashing into the street.

 _"Good job!"_ Papillon encouraged, _"You were definitely a good choice for a Tenshi. Now destroy the dragon with Cataclysm and you have saved the day!"_ Phoenix's heart swelled with pride in himself. Still, he decided to close his eyes for the next part, just to prove to himself that it wasn't his temporary newfound vision that allowed him to do this.

"Cataclysm!" He touched the dragon and it disintegrated.

Back to Ladybug

Mayur gasped in pain and fell to his knees. Phoenix flew over to Ladybug with the darkened feather in his hand, which she purified.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She turned to apprehend—and hopefully save—Mayur, only to find he was gone. Both Rena Rouge and Carapace were dazed on the ground.

"Damn, didn't think a middle-aged man could move like that." Rena mused. Ladybug held out her fist to Phoenix, and by extent Adrien.

"Pound it!" Ladybug shrugged,

"Mayur will be back. We'll get him. But for now, everything is okay." _Let him have more time with his child._

She couldn't have been more wrong about things being okay.

OoOoO

Natalie waited in the observatory when Mayur stumbled in through the window and detransformed, collapsing to the ground.

"Sir?!" She ran over to his side and noticed he was ice cold. He wasn't conscious either. She shook him, "Hey, don't you dare! Adrien still needs you!" _I still need you._

Gabriel opened his eyes, "I…" he coughed, "I failed…" Natalie shook her head,

"No, you haven't. There are still other chances." But Gabriel's expression told her he knew it was too late and he had pushed himself too far this time.

"I can't bring her back." He weeped quietly, "I need to see Adrien. And please Natalie," he held her hand and gave her hand a weak squeeze, "I need you to take care of Adrien. I know I won't be able to—pay you other than your weekly salary and the money I put for you in my will." He fell slack in her arms, no longer strong enough to support himself.

Natalie picked him up, sickened by how light he was after a year of illness. She barked at Gorilla to call a doctor, praying there was a chance to save him before he fell into an endless slumber like Emilie was now.

She placed him in his bed, and he smiled.

"Please get Adrien…I can't stay awake much longer…I need to see him." Knowing she couldn't refuse him this one thing, she ran to get Adrien, who was feeding Nooroo, and then both kwamis hid when the door opened.

"Natalie?" Adrien asked, "What is it?" Natalie tried to avoid crying, knowing what was going to happen would break Adrien's heart.

"It's your Dad…" Adrien paled and moved as fast as his wheelchair could take him, which still took like five minutes. The door was locked when they got to Gabriel's room and the two waited. Natalie paced as Adrien tapped his fingers and clawed at his hair.

After an hour, Dr. Winston opened the door and gestured for him to come in.

Adrien gasped at how dead his father looked. Gabriel smiled and held out a hand to show he was still awake. Adrien had never seen his mother like this, so at least there was mercy there.

"Dad!" Adrien rushed over to him, "Did you have another episode?" His Dad nodded,

"But…I'm not gonna pull through this one, Adrien. There are so many things I have to tell you and I don't have time to do it—"

"Stop!" Adrien pleaded, "Don't you dare give up on me! You're all I have! So you have to live, for me at least." The fake smile fell from Gabriel's face, and he cupped Adrien's cheek.

"I'm not giving up. I've been fighting for hours so I can see you again. But I failed you, Adrien. I've been trying to find your mother over these years I ignored you, and I failed you. I am so… _so_ sorry for how I treated you. It shouldn't have taken you being paralyzed for me to…"

"Shhh, don't talk." Adrien choked out, "Save your strength." Tears fell from Gabriel's eyes as he brushed away his son's tears.

"I love you." Then his arm fell slack and his eyes closed.

Eyes that were once filled with light were now vacant and closed. The once rosy complexion was waxy and pale. The lips that kissed him as a child were grey and cold. Even with all this, staring at Gabriel's lifeless form, Adrien couldn't believe his Dad was gone. Something that powerfully alive and so damn stubborn couldn't just disappear.

"D-Dad…No…" He shook him, "Dad no, you can't be gone. YOU CAN'T BE!" He sobbed in his Dad's shirt, begging for a response, "I can't lose you too."

In that moment, with her love in an endless sleep and his son heartbroken, Natalie clenched her fist and made her decision.

OoOoO

Adrien sobbed in his room, clutching a pillow and drowning it in his tears. He had no mother or father to hold, so a pillow was all he had. His Dad hadn't died yet, but he had slipped into a coma and the chances of him waking up were slim to none, so Adrien was expecting news of his father's passing every time the door opened.

Nooroo and Plagg cuddled with him.

"I'm really sorry Adrien." Nooroo said, and Adrien rolled over on his bed.

"I don't want 'sorry' I want Dad to be okay!"

"I know…" Plagg sighed, then frowned when he heard a noise and noticed a box that looked like it had been thrown in. He opened the box and gasped.

"Adrien! Look!" He flew over and gave the box to Adrien.

The peacock Miraculous was inside.

Adrien transformed and immediately called Ladybug. He would go to the Eiffel Tower, but this was too important.

Ladybug picked up, _"Chaton?"_

"Meet me in Adrien's room, now! Don't ask questions." Ladybug paused,

 _"Uh…okay?"_ She hung up and hopped into the window within seconds. She sighed,

"Adrien…I heard about your father." Papillon detransformed, and glared. He wasn't angry at her, but rather himself.

"How long have you known?"

"Since you became paralyzed. The Guardian told me. I haven't come to see you because…I am still horribly guilty about not being able to help you. But what did you need?" Adrien tossed the peacock Miraculous to her,

"I don't know how I got it. Just drop it off with Fu." Ladybug gasped,

"Have we won?" Adrien nodded,

"I…I think so. It's finally over." But not without sacrifice. His Dad was still gone forever. Ladybug beamed,

"That means I could reveal myself to you." Adrien brightened.

"Really M'Lady? I can't wait to see who my _purr_ fect lady is." The puns felt hollow, but some form of normalcy was preferred.

Ladybug smiled, "I will. I promise. But first let me deliver this to Master Fu." She jumped out the window.

But this was Natalie's plan all along. She had been waiting below for Ladybug to leave, and turned on Emilie's old motorcycle which was in the garage, and followed the heroine. She hid in the alleyway and revealed herself to be none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Natalie smirked at how easy it would be now, even without the rest of her plan.

She saw Marinette be welcomed into a shop by an old man, and listened in, watching through a tiny crack in the door as the old man opened a gramophone to reveal a box, and his iPad. He mentioned being relieved, and explained how Marinette and Chat could keep their Miraculouses in case a new threat came up. Then Natalie hid as Marinette left, looking very happy.

But she had no idea the trap she had walked into.

Natalie waited until nightfall before breaking into the shop. The old man looked frightened.

"Who are you!? I don't have anything!" Natalie made sure her face was still concealed by her bike helmet, and stabbed the man without hesitation, placing the knife in his cold, dead hands. He tried to fight her, but his age made that impossible. She took the Turtle Miraculous from him and turned to the gramophone, using the motions she had seen through the crack in the door, snatching the Miraculous Box.

At her apartment, she opened the box and observed each piece of undamaged magic jewelry. So many pieces she could use. She didn't have a time limit either. She would get the ladybug from Marinette, find Chat Noir and get his, and then she would change the timeline. She would stop Gabriel and Emilie from using the Peacock Miraculous. Emilie wouldn't have gotten sick, Gabriel wouldn't have become Hawk Moth, Adrien would be paralyzed, and Gabriel wouldn't be gone now.

She would save the Agreste family, and if she had to kill to do it, she didn't care.

"So little kwamis," she looked at each and every Miraculous—still appalled at how easy that had been and Gabriel hadn't thought to try this in three years of being a villain, while Natalie came up with this plan in ten seconds—"tell me what you can do."

 **A/N: So Gabriel is gone, and Natalie is the new main antagonist. I did that, and I am not even sorry. My sister has infected me with her evil. Understudy for Mary Poppins or not, she is not "Practically Perfect" in anything other than her managing to get chapters out all the time.**

 **And in Stormy Weather 2, Natalie confirmed that Emilie was just in an endless sleep and not dead, so that's what Gabriel is in now. And Adrien still doesn't know about the coffin room. Will he find out now that Gabriel is gone?**

 **Remember to review! I also need advice on which Miraculous Natalie will use, and the powers and stuff like that, so…help please.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the positive reviews! You have been rewarded with another chapter.**

 **Chapter 9**

Nino knocked on Adrien's door, "Hey bro, Mom made some extra pancakes, and I know how much you like her cooking." Adrien turned, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days, and was wearing black.

"Thank god, it's you. I needed a friend." Nino sat down with his brother in all but blood,

"Any change in Gabriel's condition?" Adrien shook his head,

"N-No…Natalie found a sort of coffin thing that they let him sleep in. Apparently it will preserve him, keep him from dying, until they find a way to wake him up." Nino hugged him,

"Your Dad will be alright." Nino assured, "He's too stubborn to die. I think the limit of his flexibility was giving 'the bad influence' a guest room all to himself." Nino did really live in the mansion for the most part. Gabriel didn't refer to Nino as a bad influence anymore, but it was a joke now. He even had his own room, not that he used it very often. If Adrien needed him, he would share a bed with him so his friend could hold onto someone.

Adrien smiled, "Thanks Nino. I needed that." Nino pulled out Ultimate Mecha Strike III,

"Wanna play? Also, Roxas's parents want us over for dinner tonight, are you up for it? I can cancel."

"No…I'm up for it." Adrien said, "I need to distract myself anyway. Not like me being around will affect Dad waking up."

"Cool. I'll let him know. And also, Lila has been saying her Dad is a doctor who is treating Gabriel, so you might want to disprove that one."

"And have Lila try to kill me again?"

"No, just call Dr. Winston and then tell the class who it is. Since you've been gone this week, there is no way you could know about that lie." He shrugged, "Well, today is Friday, and we both have the day off thanks to Natalie. So do you wanna play a game?"

"Yeah."

They played video games for a couple hours. Plagg and Nooroo were using a controller as well so it can be a three player game.

Eventually, Gorilla came in, followed by Roxas.

"Hey guys, I'm here to pick you up!" He walked in, and ran his hand down the game cover, "Ultimate Mecha Strike III?"

"Yeah." Adrien looked up, "You play?"

"My family does." He said, "I can't really because of my sight impairment. But we mainly play Kingdom Hearts, and I read the Braille strategy guide as my siblings play."

"You know Roxas," Nino said, "If Lila hadn't announced your disability, I would have guessed you were just a little clumsy, like Marinette." Roxas beamed,

"You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that."

The drive was quick, and Adrien was awed at the two story house Roxas lived in. It was quite big by suburban standards, and was more like a small manor.

"I should warn you," Roxas said, "My family is a lot."

"Of what?"

"Everything." He opened the door and Adrien gaped at the many people. The eldest woman was pulling some marvelous smelling cookies out of the over.

Mrs. Sommers was short, slender, and powerfully built, with pale skin, dark-brown hair and bright blue eyes. She had a button nose, sharp cheekbones and a soft mouth. Most of her body was littered in scars, the most notable ones being the one across her left cheek, and a gunshot would on her left bicep. She was wearing tight black jeans and a red flannel shirt.

She turned, "Roxas, these must be your friends!" And that got the attention of the rest of the family. An older man came over and shook Adrien's hand,

Mr. Sommers was very handsome and had chocolate-brown hair with white streaks running through it, and violet eyes with flecks of silver like starlight. He had a pale complexion, and black rimmed glasses. He was wearing a more formal outfit than his wife, but not like a business suit.

"Nice to meet you."

"Roxas!" A girl roughly twelve ran over. She was tall for her age, with long light-blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. She wore a green and white dress with a blue and silver jewel on the chest and a dark green, almost black, ribbon with diamonds in her hair. She also wore black thigh high socks, and red Mary Janes, "Your friends exist!" Aelin whacked the girl over the head,

"I already told you they exist, Danielle." She snapped. Danielle shrugged,

"I don't know. Let's see if they last dinner with us." Then Adrien noticed another little girl sitting on his lap.

She had short pale mauve hair which was slightly curled outwards with short straight bangs, and had pale pink eyes. She wore a one button dark teal cardigan with a symbol on the chest pocket and a hood that had pointed ears on the top and two pink eye-like markings on the front.

"Hello Mr. Adrien," she said innocently, looking at the controls for his wheelchair, "Can I try the moving chair?" Adrien smiled at her excited expression, adjusting the girl so she was sitting on his lap, and she used the controls to move around, shrieking with glee.

"That's enough, Celaena." Mrs. Sommers said, taking the little girl off of Adrien's lap, "Sorry about that, she loves all things that move."

"It's fine." Adrien assured, then turned and saw Nino using a DJ stand with a teenage boy a little older than them. He had short, spiky brown hair and bright blue-violet eyes. He wore a simple white shirt along with a green tie, and black jeans and red-and-white sneakers.

Mrs. Sommers pulled out her phone, "I would cook, but I am just too lazy. What kind of pizza do you want?"

"Awww!" Danielle crossed her arms, "I want Chinese takeout!" To Adrien's surprise, Mr. Sommers shrieked and fell out of his seat,

"NO!" Mrs. Sommers huffed,

"Sorry about that, there is some trauma there. Don't ask. Anyway, pizza?"

"I'm not picky." Adrien said, and noticed Celaena was sitting on his lap again, looking at the Butterfly brooch.

"This thing is pretty." She said. Adrien smiled,

"It is." The sound of crying came from the baby monitor and Mrs. Sommers walked upstairs, coming down with a black haired baby boy. Roxas took the baby from his mother,

"This is Castiel." He showed the baby off, and Nino came over.

"Roxas, bro, your family is awesome." Mr. Sommers walked over,

"Glad you like us, because you're stuck with us. Look outside." Mrs. Sommers walked over to the window and they saw a massive storm. She smirked,

"Thank god for the generator." She said.

"Mrs. Sommers…" Nino asked, "Can I please have some water?"

"Call me Zoe." She said, "And my husband is Eli. And of course you can." Zoe walked into the kitchen and came back with some water.

"So how are we supposed to get the pizza?" The eldest, Felix, asked. Zoe shrugged,

"What's the family rule?"

"Always plan for things to go to shit." All the kids said in synch. Roxas blushed in embarrassment, and Nino laughed.

"That rule is beautiful." He said, "So what have you planned?" Zoe winked and pulled out some dough, sauce, cheese, and various toppings.

"We'll make our own pizza. Then we'll pop popcorn and watch a movie?"

Adrien loved the atmosphere this family provided. And he could tell from Zoe's mannerisms that she was not trying to impress them even a little, and Roxas was embarrassed. But while Aelin seemed extra protective of her twin, nobody else paid his blindness any heed. And they didn't bat an eye at Adrien paralyzed in a wheelchair. Celaena couldn't be older than six, so she was only interested at how the wheelchair moved, and not _why_ it was being used.

Roxas walked over to his mother, "Adrien, Nino, come on over." He looked to Aelin, "Aelin, can you pass me the tomato-artichoke sauce?" Aelin slid it down the table and Roxas kneaded the dough and spread the sauce. Adrien then noticed Roxas cleaned his hands and put a blindfold on before continuing to work.

Nino sprinkled the cheese on his, "Roxas, why do you have a blindfold?" Roxas turned,

"Oh. Even though I was born blind, my eyes still try to work. Blindfolding makes it easier to focus because I wouldn't be able to see even if I had normal vision."

Because they were all working at the table, Adrien didn't need to worry about not being able to reach the counter, and worked with the rest of the family.

Eli was the first done, and put his in the oven, before going over to the piano and playing a beautiful melody Adrien had never heard before. He'd have to ask what the song was so he could practice it. His Dad would like it.

After a moment, Zoe started singing, and Adrien was impressed by her enchanting voice.

 _"_ _Breath, should I take a deep?_

 _Faith, should I take the leap?_

 _Taste, what a bittersweet_

 _All my—all my life"_

Roxas and Aelin joined in,

 _"_ _Let me face, let me face, let me face my fears_

 _Oh, let me face, let me face, let me face my fears_

 _Won't be long, won't be long, I'm almost here_

 _Watch me cry all of my tears"_

"Wow." Nino gaped, when the oven beeped and ruined the moment, "Do you guys sing together often?"

"Yeah." Aelin replied, "It's the one thing we all have in common. Dad plays the piano and we sing while doing activities together. Like cooking, or doing chores."

"That was a really pretty song." Adrien said, "What song is it? I do piano practice and am in need to new songs."

"Face my Fears, by Utada Hikaru." Eli replied.

"Cool. Thanks."

Zoe cooked their pizzas and they all ate. Then she grabbed those heavenly cookies she had been baking earlier. They were golden, and fluffy, and holy mother of god they were delicious.

"Like the family recipe?" She grinned at his wide eyed expression. And for a moment, he forgot about his father's condition, "My Grandma taught it to me. I'll grab the cookies and make popcorn. Butter and salt? Or cheese? Camembert popcorn is pretty good."

"I like butter and salt." Adrien said, "But could I try the camembert popcorn?" Zoe nodded, and grabbed some corn from the pantry.

"What movie shall we watch?" Danielle asked, "I want to watch that Ladybug and Chat Noir movie! The one that came out right before Chat got hit by a bus."

"Seriously though." Eli growled, "Even if that isn't the real cause of his paralysis, I almost got hit by a bus without good breaks the other day while taking Celaena and Castiel to the park."

"It's true." Felix said, "We went on a school field trip, and half the kids were writing their will, and others were preparing weapons so if they survived the crash, they could kill Nadja Chamack before they got an invasive interview." Adrien chuckled at the accuracy.

"Remember guys, the guests get to choose." Eli said, "Adrien? Nino?" Nino shrugged,

"I have no opinion. But that movie sounds fun." Adrien nodded his agreement, remembering how he voiced Chat for that movie. He wasn't a huge fan because of how inaccurate it was, but without that bias it was a good movie.

"Sure."

There hours later

"Your family is awesome!" Nino said, laying on his air mattress that night. Roxas smiled,

"You think so?"

"Yeah." Adrien looked around the room. It was completely white and various shades of grey, but that made sense, "Your family rules! You had my worried when you said they were a lot."

"I guess I never knew how good I have it." Roxas shrugged, "Hey Adrien, are you Papillon?" Adrien spit out his drink and Nino gaped,

"How…?!"

"The day I met you and revealed I wanted to help people, a Tenshi came to me, with your voice." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I know, not much evidence, but I'm curious." Adrien nodded, then remembered Roxas couldn't see that.

"I am. Nooroo, Plagg, can you come out?" Nooroo and Plagg emerged and Nooroo flew into Roxas's spiky hair. Roxas touched the little creatures with a look of pure joy,

"They feel adorable." He took Nooroo out of his hair and cupped him in his palm, "Do they give you powers?"

"Yeah. Then that dragon attacked, I couldn't think of anyone better to help us than you." Then Roxas started crying.

"Roxas?"

"Thank you." Roxas whispered, "My whole life, people—other than my family, but even them sometimes—acted as though I couldn't do anything. And I know it was just because I was around…but just…thank you. Thank you for treating me like everyone else. It's all I've ever wanted. And…I will always be grateful for that. You're both so kind, and you let people have a chance. Not just me, everyone. You see the greatness in everyone. So thank you."

Nino helped Adrien up onto Roxas's bed and hugged him,

"Roxas, you're our friend." Nino assured, "And we will never treat you differently because of something you couldn't control." Roxas was still crying tears of pure joy.

And that was how Zoe found them, all cuddled together on Roxas's bed, with the kwamis sleeping in Adrien's hair. She decided not to question the kwamis, and just wrapped a blanket around the teens and went to go to bed herself, just glad her son had found some friends.

OoOoO

The storm lasted a couple days, and the three boys went to school together on Tuesday when the damage had been cleaned up. Adrien had been distracted from his Dad's condition for the first day, but was back in mourning not long after. Roxas assured him that as long as Gabriel breathed, there was still hope of him waking up.

Marinette and Alya came over before class began, "So how was the three-day sleepover?"

"It was so fun!" Nino said, and began going on and on about the Sommers family and how he gave Zoe his mother's number so they could meet.

During lunch, the three boys were explaining what they wanted to do. Alya and Marinette listened intently.

"So you want to assemble some of the disabled in our community and collectively figure out how to handle each one so nobody suffers like you guys did?" Adrien nodded,

"Do you remember my first day back at school?" He said, "I was abandoned at the foot of the stairs and had to be carried places. That was a massive pain. It's better now, but only because you stepped up, Alya. The people who need the help should start advocating for ourselves so we aren't ignored or babied." He turned when he felt a tap on his shoulder, and a girl from another class, Cecilia, was standing there.

"Are you talking about assistance for disabled?" Marinette nodded and she sat down, "Great. I want to help. I have Mild Cerebral Palsy."

"I've never heard of that." Roxas said curiously, "Can you elaborate? Please." Cecilia shrugged,

"Walking for long distances makes my feet and legs ache badly. My bones feel stiff and tight, needing to elevate and massage them once sitting to null the pain." To prove her point, she started massaging her legs, "GYM CLASS SUCKS!"

"This is actually something worthy of a blog." Alya said, "Roxas, you said you are babied, and I've seen Adrien be both ignored or babied—namely the latter once everyone knew he was back—but Cecilia's isn't obvious, so she doesn't get help when she needs it. Only the super obvious disabilities cause the overprotective behavior, and those with less obvious problems are considered weak or dumb." Nino nodded,

"Yeah, I've noticed that too. Alya, maybe you could start a blog as the first step of making a difference. Your blogs get a lot of follows ever since you founded the LadyBlog." Alya nodded and went to work.

"We should start a club on this." Cecilia said, "That way others can help with the experiment on how people like us are treated."

"Good idea." Adrien held out his fist, and they all fist-bumped,

"Pound it!"

OoOoO

Natalie was tearing at her hair.

That guardian guy's death had been called a suicide, thank god, so she had won there. Though she wasn't sure whether to be proud of herself for getting away with murder, or horrified at how terrible the police were. Not that it mattered because she was the murderer and them being dumb was good.

But these stupid Miraculouses were a pain in her ass.

She had tried the dragon, and caused a storm for days. She tried all sorts of others and found they were more defensive than offensive. Then she tried the rabbit, and went back in time. She had cried with joy when she realized that power…

Until she remembered just how stubborn an Agreste was. She ran to Emilie and Gabriel—and it _hurt_ , seeing her friends healthy and happy, knowing in three years they would both be in slumbers nobody could wake them from, and their son would be orphaned and paralyzed—and begged them to not use the Peacock. But they both ignored her, and she had to watch as Emilie transformed. She tried going even further back and preventing them from finding it too, but they managed to get around her.

So she was back to her plan to change the timeline to save them, by wishing for them to have never learned of the Miraculouses.

But for now, she had to decide on which one to use, before picking the Bee. That way she could stun Marinette/Ladybug to get the Miraculous, and then she would force the location of the Black Cat out of the little bitch.

She slipped the Bee comb in her hair and the kwami appeared.

"How many I please you, my Queen?" The kwami said. Natalie smirked,

"How do I transform?"

"You say: Pollen, buzz on."

"Pollen, _dark_ buzz on." Pollen gasped as she was sucked into the hair comb. Natalie looked at herself transformed in the mirror.

She wore a black and yellow domino mask, and had her black hair back in a low bun still, tied with a yellow hairband and had a yellow streak in her hair; the Bee Miraculous comb was placed in the upper right side of her head next to the hairband. Her costume was black made up of many tiny hexagonal patterns to resemble a honeycomb with three yellow stripes on her torso and two on the upper thigh. Her black boots went down the length of her lower legs, starting directly below the second yellow stripe on her thigh, and ending with yellow wedges. She had her weapon, the trompo, tied around her waist.

What was her name going to be? Queen Wasp? No…that didn't sound like her. Hornet? That worked. Hornet it was.

Hornet looked at the box, before getting an idea. A terrible one, but an idea nonetheless.

And that was what led her to Lila Rossi's window. Yes, that bitch had tried to kill Adrien, but she wanted Ladybug dead more than anything. This would work.

"Huh?" Lila jumped backwards in shock at the sight of the Bee supervillain. Hornet held out the box with the Fox Miraculous,

"Lila Rossi, here is the Miraculous of the Fox, so you can be Volpina for real. In return, you must defeat Ladybug and retrieve her Miraculous." Lila took the box,

"Real superpowers and revenge. Count me in. I assume you work for Hawk Moth." Hornet paused,

"He's unwell, so I am working of my own accord, but I do work for him." Lila smirked,

"You can count on me."

 **A/N: And this is the start of Natalie being the main villain and more on Roxas's family. And also the Dark Buzz joke returns. Yes I know it's just an English dub thing, but just imagine Natalie having to say that with a straight face every time.**

 **Next chapter will have Adrien and Ladybug finally interacting and an actual demonstration of Natalie in action.**

 **Remember to review! I love reviews! They make my day.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: No, I do not read _Throne of Glass_ , the Sommers family is my big sister's OC family, and she reads the series.**

 **Chapter 10**

Adrien was sitting bedside with his comatose father when Ladybug ran in, or rather very rudely barged in.

"Adrien! Hornet's back! I need a Tenshi!" Adrien turned,

"No hello?" Ladybug sighed,

"Hello chaton. But Hornet and Volpina are attacking." Adrien's eyes widened,

"Nooroo, wings rise." He sent off a Tenshi and Ladybug turned to leave.

"M'Lady, I need to talk to you when you're done." Ladybug hesitated, before shaking her head and trying to leave, only for Papillon to call the Tenshi back, "Ladybug, we are talking, or you don't get my help. I am sick of you always avoiding me, and only when I am clearly dealing with other things do you come in and demand a Tenshi!"

She froze, eyes wide at the start of what would be a long outburst if she returned. Papillon glared, holding the Tenshi in his palm. Plagg sat on his shoulder, supporting him in his decision to stand up to her. In the month since Hornet had first appeared, she mostly let Volpina do the heavy lifting and was the mastermind. Hornet could fight, and could fight well, but she often reserved herself and was very careful.

"Fine. Adrien, please, I really need that Tenshi."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Papillon smiled and sent the Tenshi away.

"Okay, Phoenix will assist you." He turned back to his Dad, "I'll see you in a bit."

OoOoO

Natalie wanted nothing more than to save the Agrestes, and Ladybug kept stopping her. She would be less careful and just take venom, paralyze her, and kill the girl outright—because she wouldn't be dead once the timeline was changed—as a civilian, she was Adrien's friend. And she had to make sure her Miraculous wasn't taken, because she was working alone and had nobody to call upon. Lila didn't count, because she was a selfish little bitch who she was perfectly fine with getting hurt. Volpina was the distraction, but Natalie didn't care if the liar died.

Phoenix was a massive annoyance as well. He could use his power as many times as he wanted, and he was a phenomenal fighter. The worst part was that he was always reaching for the Miraculous. He knew what he was looking for. Turtle Noir had happened too, and also knew what to look for, so he was also irritating.

Her current plan was to wear Ladybug down, tire her, so she made a mistake. Then she would just kidnap Marinette and take the Miraculouses. If she was feeling cruel, she would kidnap the parents and do a trade, but she just wanted to save Gabriel and Emilie. If she wanted to kill, she would have done that already. She just wanted to kidnap a girl, have no struggle, take the earrings, and then get the location of Chat Noir. Yes, he got hit by a bus, and that was terrible, but he clearly still had the Miraculous, and she needed it.

So far, her plan was working. But seriously, did Adrien have a fucking organization of people working for him? He always had someone. Organization Tenshi. It had been decided. Maybe that was the name of the little club for disabled people. She had to admit Emilie and Gabriel would be proud of their son. He was taking his paralysis like a champ.

She decided to be done for the night and left the fight, leaving Volpina to do her thing. Ladybug needed to be tired, but Natalie needed to be well rested.

She did not except to hear Ladybug and Adrien arguing.

OoOoO

Adrien waited patiently for Ladybug to arrive. Finally he would talk to her.

However, two hours later had him losing faith in her promise. He knew Hornet and Volpina had left, so why was Ladybug not here?

He sighed after another hour, "She's not coming." Plagg and Nooroo brought him his pajama pants and he bent down, pulling them on, before rolling to pull them all the way up. Showers were a nightmare while paralyzed, so he wasn't even going to try tonight. He wasn't in the mood to feel even more frustrated.

He put his shirt on and dragged his dead legs over to the bed. These were the days he regretted getting dressed that day, because if he was in sweats, he could just roll into bed. He had long since stopped wishing for his legs, because that just made him extra depressed. Dead parent drama and wishing for something that will never come true? Don't do it.

He was about to fall asleep when he heard a knock on the window, and gaped when he saw Ladybug. Hastily, he opened the window and let her in.

"I didn't want to come." Ladybug said nervously, "I almost didn't. But I promised you I would. So what do you want to talk about?" Adrien sucked in a breath.

"I…I want you to trust me." She raised an eyebrow, so he clarified, "You didn't even tell me you knew my identity for a year! A fucking _year_! You never told me anything about the Guardian until the guy was dead. I just…I want to feel more like a partner than a sidekick. We've been working together for a long time, and you know everything about me, but…I want—"

"You want to know my identity." Ladybug sighed, "Adrien, I do trust you. But we can't know anything about each other, I've told you this before."

"You promised you would tell me."

"That's when I thought it was over!" Ladybug snapped, "How dare you deprive me of help and then demand to know my identity!"

"I have a right! You don't even talk to me anymore! And why? Is it because you know who I am?! Just because I am Adrien Agreste? We have been in this together since the beginning! Have I ever failed you? I took punches for you! I have _died_ for you!" Adrien wished he could stand so he could embrace the fact he was a head taller than her, as he felt like a small child sitting up in bed while a superhero shouted at him.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. And that was saying a lot, since he adored Ladybug. But he also had a month to stew in his own rage at how she didn't tell him anything. He felt all that fondness for her melt away and leave just plain rage. Maybe he did have a little of his parents' temper.

"You want to know why I don't tell you?" Ladybug asked, "Because you're weak! You always get turned evil! And now you're crippled and have to have other people fight for you!" Ladybug's eyes widened as she realized she had said the 'c word' and opened her mouth, "Adrien…I—"

"OUT!" he roared, "WE'RE DONE!" Ladybug had tears in her eyes as she realized she had fucked up badly,

"Adrien—"

"GO!"

Ladybug ran off, and Adrien sobbed. He had loved her with all his heart, and those words hurt like hell. He looked down at his legs and shrieked into a pillow.

"Adrien…" Plagg cuddled next to him, "I wish I could tell you." He looked up,

"Tell me what?"

"I know Ladybug's identity. I found out about it a while ago, but there is a spell that prevents kwamis from telling." Adrien brightened,

"Okay, you had a legitimate reason to not tell me. But I can see it in your eyes that you have an idea." Plagg nodded,

"Yes and no questions." Nooroo laughed,

"Loophole goals!" The year had warmed Nooroo up, and he was actually quite cheerful. Plagg sat on Adrien's leg,

"I have no idea why it took me so long to think about this. Let's hope it works. As away." Adrien thought of questions,

"Do I know her as a civilian?"

"Yes."

"Is she my friend?"

"Yes."

"Is she disabled?"

"Not to my knowledge. Though I think there is a _chance_ she has Aspergers or is somehow on the spectrum. That would explain the creepy stalking."

"Stalking?"

"Yeah. It's terrifying. She hasn't done it as much as of late, but still." Nooroo turned,

"Really? She seems so nice."

"You weren't around for when she stole Adrien's phone." Adrien's eyes widened,

"Wait what?!" He remembered when he had lost his phone, "WHY?!"

"I don't know." Plagg said, "All I know is one day the phone wasn't there, then she was slipping it into your bag the next day." Adrien felt very disturbed by that revelation. But now he was in too deep to turn away. He was a little scared to find out who it was though, because the idea a close friend of his was a creepy stalker scared him. He had been friends with someone who stole his phone!

He pulled up a picture on his phone, of him and his close friends—Roxas, Cecilia, Nino, Alya, Chloe and Marinette. Yes, Chloe had joined the group and was being a real friend—and he sighed,

"Is Ladybug in this picture?"

"Yes."

So that left Chloe, Alya, Cecilia, and Marinette. He knew Chloe and Alya were off the list, because he had seen them both akumatized and right next to Ladybug. Cecilia and Marinette. Which one? But then his heart broke a little as he figured it out.

"Is Ladybug's civilian form Marinette." Adrien squeezed his eyes shut as he heard Plagg's answer.

"…Yes."

Adrien started shaking. Ladybug had been there. She had been right fucking there! She had known so much about him. And she called him crippled.

And she was always giving people shit for lying, when she herself lied more than almost anyone! Sure, it was to hide her identity, but she was being such a fucking hypocrite!

Maybe she would be a coward like she had been as Ladybug and stop talking to him. Because he wasn't sure how he could kick her out of their friend group without looking bad in front of their other friends. And he still loved her parents. This sucked.

"Adrien? Are you okay?" Nooroo asked. Adrien laid down,

"Ladybug means nothing to me."

OoOoO

"Ladybug means nothing to me."

Natalie heard Adrien talking to Nooroo after arguing with Ladybug. She hadn't realized Ladybug had actually known Papillon's identity, or that Adrien had protected her as a civilian.

But the face he completely swore off Ladybug made all moral issues against kidnapping Marinette vanish.

So she transformed and snuck to the bakery, and saw Marinette crying on her bed—she needed a curtain on her skylight—with the Ladybug kwami confronting her. She opened the light just a crack and heard what she was saying.

"I called him crippled, Tikki!" She wept into her pillow, "He hates me."

"Marinette, he could never hate you." Tikki assured, then she noticed Hornet, "MARINETTE!"

"Venom!" She stabbed Marinette in the chest, and the girl fell slack in her arms. For good measure, she stabbed her with the Bee superpower a couple more times, before removing the Miraculous.

"One down." She said with a dark laugh, running to the observatory and chaining Marinette to the floor.

"Pollen, buzz off." Natalie detransformed and put the Ladybug earrings in. Tikki's eyes widened,

"Natalie?"

"That's right." She said, "You know, I was going to ask her. But after what she said to Adrien, I want a little more revenge on her for hurting my family." She then transformed into Hornet again, calling Nadja Chamack,

"Hello?"

"Hello Nadja." She said, "This is Hornet. Broadcast this message. Because I have Ladybug right here, and she in none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng. So Chat Noir, I respect you got hit by a bus, but if you want her, give yourself up. In return, I could grant you back the use of your legs." She hung up, and looked to where Marinette was waking up.

"Wha…where am I?"

"Hello Marinette." Hornet said, "It's time for you and I to chat."

 **A/N: Ladybug down! And there has been a fallout. Will Adrien save her? Review to find out!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Adrien!" The team ran in—Cecilia was being carried piggyback by Nino so they didn't have to wait—and shook Adrien awake.

"Guys, it's the weekend." Adrien slurred, rolling over, "Let me sleep."

"Turn on the TV, now!" Alya ordered. Adrien rubbed his eyes sleepily, remembering his argument with Ladybug, Marinette, and huffed, turning on the television that was now in front of his bed instead of all the way across the room.

Hornet's message was the first thing that came up.

"Chat Noir, I don't know where you are." Nadja said, "But please, save our hero."

"What's the plan, Adrien?" Alya demanded. Adrien just rolled over to go back to sleep, "What?"

"Hornet has all the Miraculouses except the Butterfly and the Cat." Adrien replied, "And even if there were more I didn't know about, Marinette didn't tell me shit and then called me crippled when I asked for some info last night. And she's a creepy stalker who tricked a fireman into helping her stack garbage cans so she could spy on me through the window. So I'm not inclined to help her." He hadn't had a restful sleep, so he went through the mansion security footage to see how much of a stalker Marinette was, and was very disturbed to find that out. He had been planning to file for a restraining order.

Alya pursed her lips, "She was trying to make sure you were safe from Lila?" Adrien glared,

"You knew she stalked me like a psycho? And she was trying to keep me safe, clearly because I'm crippled and can't take care of myself." Alya sat down, unsure of how to defend her best friend. Adrien clearly felt disturbed and betrayed. And that had occurred the night before Marinette was kidnapped. Hornet had really chosen a bad day for this.

"Adrien…" Chloe sat down, "Even if you hate Marinette, you should still save her, because that's what heroes do. Ladybug saved me every day, even though I tormented her. You can be moody later, but for now we have a villain with total demon power."

Adrien sat up, "Fine. Say I did want to save her. What are we supposed to do? As you said, Hornet has Volpina and total power, while I can't walk, and only have the Cat and Butterfly. And I can only summon one Tenshi."

"There might be a way…" Nooroo said, "Adrien, if you give me permission to wander outside the house, that would be appreciated."

"Um…why?"

"Just trust me." Adrien shrugged,

"I was never stopping you from leaving, but sure, go ahead. Just be careful."

…

Nooroo flew down to the atelier, a room that had been unused for a year. Just being in here gave him PTSD, but he knew what he was looking for.

Sucking in a breath, he phased into the safe and took out a journal of Gabriel's, going through and scratching out anything involving Natalie, and tearing out the page that involved keeping Adrien safe via Gorizilla. But it still had the basic plot Gabriel had been planning.

"I hope this works." He muttered quietly.

…

The team waited, trying figure out what to do, when Nooroo came back with a dirty journal.

"Here. These were Hawk Moth's plans before…giving up the Butterfly and passing away."

"Hawk Moth's dead?!" Nino's eyes widened, "Shit. I wanted him to pay, but death? I was thinking prison." Cecilia shook herself,

"Nevermind that. Adrien, what does it say?" Adrien was reading through the journal, eyes wide.

"Looks like some parts are pretty faded, or maybe he scratched it out so as to not incriminate himself. But the plan is genius. Basically I give a Tenshi to one of you, who would give me the power to give everyone a Tenshi, as in the entire city. And then there was a thing about Dark Cupid keeping perpetual negative emotions, and using Volpina to have a fake version of him to distract us so the real him could take up by surprise."

"That's…actually…kind of terrifying." Alya said, "That probably would have worked. And the fact he gave up that plan just because he felt bad for what happened to Adrien kind of humanizes him a little."

"And he was already dying…" Roxas murmured. All of them bowed their heads a little, before Plagg spoke up.

"And Adrien…I have brought it up before because it's risky, but I have an idea. And if I'm right, you might get your legs back, albeit temporarily." Everyone turned to the kwami,

"I'm listening." He said. Plagg cleared his throat,

"Okay, so you know how the transformation assists those with injuries. Like Hawk Moth was able to fight really well while dying, or you were able to fight with a broken ankle." Adrien nodded, and Plagg continued, "Yeah, well obviously a transformation doesn't fix paralysis. But what if it's two Miraculouses in a combo? It's risky, fusing two into one transformation, but if we do it with myself and Nooroo, you would have the upper hand. Hornet is expecting someone unable to walk, working alone. She isn't expecting a double-transformed superhero and an army of Tenshis."

"That might actually work." Roxas said. Nooroo then came back with a grimoire.

"Nooroo, you really shouldn't keep going back to that place." Nino said, "It's risky." Nooroo shrugged,

"I just remembered he had this as well. Only a guardian can translate it though. And Hornet has the translations, but maybe the pictures will help."

Adrien took the book, and ran his hand through it, before freezing.

"Roxas, I want you to translate this." He gave Roxas the book, "The symbols are Braille!" Roxas brightened and started running his hand down it, humming quietly while he worked, making notes—it was surprising at first, how beautiful his handwriting was when he couldn't see what he was writing, but he had the best handwriting in the class—and translating.

"So either Roxas is a god," Cecilia said, "Or the 'secret' language was just Braille."

"Well, it's Roxas." Alya replied, "It could honestly be both." Roxas blushed and continued translating.

"Okay, so fusing the two Miraculouses is allowed. Problem: there is no limit to how many."

"So Hornet literally has all the demon power." Chloe shuddered, "Are we sure Marinette is even alive?"

"She has to be." Alya insisted, "So who is going to be the Catalyst?" Nino raised a hand,

"I'll do it. I want to fight, but my bro needs me, so that is the role I will play." Adrien turned to his best friend gratefully,

"Nino, you truly are an amazing friend."

"Uh oh." Everyone turned to Roxas, who was on the page involving the wish.

"What?"

"The wish…there's a price to pay. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For every a wish, a price to pay. An eye for an eye, a son for a son."

"Well shit." Cecilia said, "So if Hornet even wishes for someone to be revived…"

"Someone else will have to die." Plagg finished, "That's why we have to stop this from happening."

Adrien sighed, "I hope this works. Plagg, claws out. Nooroo, wings rise." They both were sucked into their Miraculous and the black and purple transformation covered Adrien.

Monarch was a combination of Papillon and Chat Noir, with the cat ears and tail, as well as the basic suit—though more skintight—and all white was replaced with black. HIs mask was the same strip of leather he had missed dearly. And his boots were just like his Chat Noir boots. And his cane was silver, though it still had the sword, something he could see as a useful tool.

"Well?" Roxas asked, "How do you feel?" Monarch was crying.

"I…I can feel my legs. It's pins and needles, but I can feel them." No matter how painful it was, it was still the most wonderful feeling he had ever felt. Experimentally, he extended his leg, and it moved! It moved!

"Adrien…" Nino back up and held his arms out, "Can you?"

Monarch sucked in a deep, shaky breath, before standing and taking a step forward. He stumbled, but got up with help from his cane, before stumbling over to Nino. It was like a toddler, but his muscles were tense from lack of use. But eventually he took three steady steps into Nino's waiting arms, who crushed him into a hug, crying just as hard as Monarch was.

"You're walking!" The two ended up crying together, and Alya took a picture before separating them.

"Come on guys, we need to save Marinette!" Monarch stood up, walking in a circle to get the feel for it, before sending a Tenshi to Nino.

"Catalyst, you've always been by my side. Will you help me again?" Nino nodded and transformed, before taking Monarch's cane,

"Here, I will grant you the power to use as many Tenshis as you want. Good luck Monarch." He felt a new power rush through him and he sent off an army of Tenshis. Some of which went to his friends behind him.

It wasn't hard, as everyone was ready to assist in saving their heroine.

No matter how much Monarch hated Marinette right now, Chloe—god help her—was right. He was a hero, and he had to act like one.

OoOoO

This was the moment epic piano music would come into the picture. Marinette was practically crucified to a beam on the Eiffel Tower—with just chains, she wasn't nailed to anything—while Hornet looked out at the city.

"Any moment now, your highness." Just because, she began to sing,

 _"Believe me I know_

 _I've sunk pretty low."_ She turned and rounded on her captive,

 _"But whatever I've done you deserve"_ Marinette looked up,

"Hornet, please—"

"Quiet!"

 _"I'm the bad guy, that's fine_

 _It's no fault of mine_

 _And some justice at last will be served"_

"Please listen!" Hornet ignored Marinette and turned to the Miracle Box, putting on every single Miraculous,

 _"Now it's time to step up_

 _Or it's time to back down_

 _And there's only one answer for me."_ She transformed,

 _"And I'll stand up and fight_

 _cause I know that I'm right_

 _And I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready_

 _Ready as I'll ever be."_ She smirked, throwing out the sword she now had, and creating a massive storm.

Meanwhile

Phoenix was trying to cheer on the people to fight. His insecurities made it difficult, but he managed to make up the difference.

 _"Now it's time to rise up_

 _Or it's time to stand down_

 _And the answer is easy to see."_ He gestured to the Eiffel Tower where a storm was brewing, and pulled out his sword, knowing he had already convinced the school, but needed the help of some adults as well. His family was already on board, as his parents had become Fireheart and Mockingjay.

 _"And I swear by the sword_

 _If you're in, get on board_

 _Are you ready?"_

Rena Rouge pumped her fist, "I'm ready!"

Queen Bee and Sakura—Cecilia—looked to each other, "We're ready!"

The rest of the crowd joined in, "We're ready!"

Phoenix turned to the Eiffel Tower, _"Ready as I'll ever be."_

Meanwhile

Catalyst turned to Monarch worriedly, _"Are you quite sure we can do this?"_ Monarch looked at his sword nervously, standing on his windowsill,

 _"Together we will guarantee."_

…

Celestial grinned maliciously down at the people of Paris, _"I'll make them hear me."_

…

Phoenix ran with the people and saw his parents and siblings kicking ass against the shadow monsters that were coming for them, _"Prove they can trust me."_

…

Monarch ran across the rooftops, looking at the families below, _"I'll save my home and family."_ He landed on the ground and continued running.

Catalyst watched his best friend from afar, _"And I'm ready!"_

Phoenix flipped over some more monsters, _"I'm ready!"_

Monarch looked up at the Eiffel Tower and then launched himself up, _"I'm ready."_

Celestial looked very startled to see him, but then brushed it off,

 _"Ready as I'll… ever be."_

 **A/N: I'm sorry. I had to. It was just too perfect. Don't judge me, I'm eleven.**

 **That's set-up land, and the next chapter is "What should be the final boss fight"**

 **And as usual, remember to review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Hello." Celestial greeted politely, which caught Monarch by surprise, "I am Celestial, formerly Hornet, and you?"

"Monarch. Formally Chat Noir." He glared, and asked "Where's Marinette?"

All in all, Celestial looked rather awesome, and surprisingly simple.

She wore a deep violet dress with a golden collar and sleeves that end in a point on the back of her hand. The dress appeared to have a set hexagonal texture. The bottom of the dress had a front-slit skirt, and the end of the skirt had rounded points with dark blue, light-pink-centered spots. The rounded points were edged with translucent golden material. Underneath the dress, she had translucent golden that were opaque from the knees down, making the opaque section resemble high-heeled boots. Her mask was the same violet, with gold details.

"Your Lady is unharmed." Celestial replied, "Not for long if you don't give me your Miraculous." Monarch smirked,

"She means nothing to me. That card won't work." She was clearly taken aback by the genuine hatred in his tone. She frowned,

"Then why come?"

"It was either this or you terrorize Paris." He clenched his fist with the ring, still needing his cane to walk, "So tell me, what this is about. What is your wish?"

"It doesn't matter. Because I'm getting that Miraculous of yours anyway." He cupped a Tenshi in his hand.

"But it does matter. It's what will be the difference of whether I am your enemy or ally." Celestial then smiled,

"I want to change the past. My very good friends found the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous, but the Peacock was damaged, and it made my friend very sick, until she fell into a coma. Her husband couldn't raise their young child alone, and used the Butterfly to try to save her, since he himself was also sick. Then he too succumbed to the illness. Now it's just me, the best friend, and the young child. I am going to stop them from having found the Miraculous, that way my friends will be saved, and Adrien Agreste will have never been paralyzed! Can't you see I'm just trying to fix what was wrong?"

This would give him his legs back…that sounded wonderful…he was about to slip off his ring, when he suddenly stopped,

"How can I believe you? And even if I do, there is a price for all of this! An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a child for a child!" Celestial nodded,

"I know. That's why I am to change the past. But if you can't be swayed…" She pulled out a sword, "I guess we'll have to fight."

OoOoO

Marinette was chained up in Gustave Eiffel's office, sobbing her eyes out. She had been a jerk to Adrien, a complete jerk! And now her identity was revealed to everyone.

"Chaton, please come for me." Then she realized how selfish that was. She wanted him to save her so she could be assured that she hadn't destroyed her relationship with him completely. But she needed to stop being selfish and think about him.

Then the door of the office burst open and a girl appeared alongside Rena Rouge, Phoenix, and Queen Bee.

"Hello Marinette." The girl said, "It's me, Cecilia, or Sakura right now. Come on."

Cecilia as Sakura wore a dark pink skintight suit with white cherry blossoms wrapped around her legs and arms like engraved vines. Her gloves and boots were green. Her mask was also green but outlined dark pink. Her strawberry-blonde hair was in a high ponytail held by a green long ribbon. The weapon was a green whip.

Phoenix used his powers to destroy the chains on Marinette's wrists, and carried her,

"You and Adrien need to talk later."

"I think you're just a bitch." Sakura said. Marinette sighed,

"Where's Adrien? Is he okay?" Rena nodded,

"He's fighting Celestial right now."

"WHAT?!"

OoOoO

Monarch got into a fighting stance, ready to intercept any attacks he had to from this villain. The two of them exchanged silent glares and glances at one another, both of them trying to figure out exactly what it was that was making the other tick, observing any weak points that may exist in the other targets defenses.

Celestial made the first move, suddenly charging at Monarch at an incredible speed, utilizing the strength her Miraculouses gave in full. She managed to close the ten meter gap between the two in less than a second, and was already launching a back handed strike towards Monarch's neck.

Reflexes in check however, Monarch was able to jump behind and above Celestial, and launched a spinning back kick to the closest area to her vertebrae.

The move didn't do much, however, and Celestial didn't even seem phased by it. Instead, she quickly turned herself on her heels, and slashed at Monarch with sharp claws, with were only deflected by the defense the young hero had as part of his outfit. it managed to deflect the attack, but Monarch could feel the impact like a truck.

Quickly, Monarch jumped backwards, attempting to get his bearings, but as soon as he landed, he was able to see Celestial already aiming for him, this time with a left jab aimed at the head. A range finder, Monarch recognized, a technique used for determining how far away an opponent was, and how for the next attack would have to travel to hit said target. It allowed the user to then close said distance for a more impactful strike.

"Rrryah!"

A few more punches and kicks lead to deep breaths taken by both sides, trying to come to grips with the pain they were under. Monarch fell to his knees, unable to stand up on two legs anymore. Through ragged breathing more, he felt a sudden surge of anger pool in the pits of his stomach, remembering that while Marinette was a creepy stalker—which counted as harassment—she still was wrongfully kidnapped. He lacked energy to do much, but he was certainly feeling the motivation to pick himself back up and clobber this villain.

The weak make up the foundation for the strong. That was true. He had known this his entire life. The weak acted like the glue to the world, supporting it, and holding it upright and running. The people who worked every day in their lives, had families, and kept society moving along the roads of science and discovery. This was an undeniable truth. It really was just that simple.

Most of the world was weak. But without those weak people, the strong wouldn't be strong. Instead, they'd be normal. But their foundation worked a lot more complexly than that. Heroes needed the weak to survive, and the weak needed Heroes to do the same. Without one, the other couldn't exist

In a sense, the weak were the strongest of everyone. They controlled nearly everything, ordering the strong to do what they wanted. Almost like a zookeeper telling a lion who to attack, what to do, whom to rip apart, and what the leave alone. Like trained animals.

Monarch knew all of this, because he was weak. He knew he was weak. The weak held up the strong, but he didn't want to be weak. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to be able to be a hero, in order to protect the weak, no matter how long it took. And if saving a stalker was what it took, so be it.

Another left handed slug smacked Celestial in the jaw, each strike hitting like a truck to her. Each one of them was packed with so more force and precision she hadn't been able to make any meaningful counter attackers.

The back and forward slug-out between the two of them had gone on for at least several minutes at this point, and Monarch was, despite his now barely-functioning right arm, putting up a very good fight. Strike after strike, kick after kick, and attack after attack was winning him this brutal brawl. All he needed to do was keep up this pace, and he'd be the victor of the battle in little to no time at all.

But then Celestial grabbed his hand, whacking over the side of the head and took the ring as he fell over. Papillon fell to the ground, now once again paralyzed without the aid of the Cat Miraculous,

"PLAGG!" He had a desperate expression, trying to drag himself to stop the villain from using his friend for evil, "Stop!" He heard Catalyst in his head, panicking a little, and Papillon felt bitter that his gut had been right and he shouldn't have come, or he should have ignored Alya and brought them as backup instead of looking for Marinette. "You don't understand what you will do!" he heard and felt people pounding against the force field Celestial had put up

"Oh child," she said, "I know very well." She discarded the other Miraculouses, leaving herself in just the Ladybug, then put on the Black Cat, transforming into an ultimate form.

"I wish for the Agreste family to have never learned of the Miraculouses!"

"What?!" Papillon gasped as there was an explosion and the world went white.

 **A/N: Short chapter, sorry about that, but Natalie has won! Seriously, I tried, I really did, but there was no way this could have gone to have her not win. No, this isn't the end, there are still many chapters to come. Also, guess what the price will be of this wish, there is one.**

 **Also, the reason I had just a small battle was because the rest of the Tenshi army was being used to keep the beings Celestial created at bay, and the goal of the main friend group was to save Marinette. Also, Celestial put up a barrier to prevent others from coming in, to confirm her victory.**

 **And as usual, please remember to review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Adrien found himself in his bedroom, and blinked a few times. That had been a weird dream—wait, where was his ring?! Where was Nooroo?!

"PLAGG!" Adrien looked around, but then froze.

His legs were working. Not tense at all, working just fine.

Then Natalie walked in, grinning broadly, "Adrien!" She hugged him, "How do you feel?" Adrien looked down at his legs,

"I feel…good…but Natalie, what happened?" Natalie dug into her pocket, pulling out—to Adrien's shock—the Cat Miraculous.

"I believe this is yours. I saw a lot when I used it." His eyes widened. Was Natalie admitting to being…that would mean—

"Natalie…" Adrien looked up, "Are you Celestial?" She sighed, nodding. Before he could be mad, she held a hand up,

"You, I, and your close friends remember the previous timeline. You are still in school. It wasn't hard to steal back the Cat Miraculous, Plagg remembers too. I will go grab Nooroo later." Adrien sat down,

"If what you say is true… that means Dad…"

Natalie then realized the issue, and sat next to him, "Your father loves you, he always has. His whole quest to save your mother was to make this family happy again. But because they never found the Miraculouses, they weren't so worried about your safety. So your parents let you attend public school, you made your friends—and have known Nino since you were five—and now you have your mother! No, neither of your parents remember the previous timeline."

Speaking of which, Gabriel came in. Only he looked physically younger. Yes, stress had aged him, Adrien knew this, but it was strange still to see him so happy.

"Hey Adrien! We just the got Ultimate Mecha Strike VI demo. Your Mom and I were wondering if you wanted to play after school." Adrien thought for a moment, thinking about Hawk Moth…then he remembered his father falling into a coma right in front of him, and sobbed, running to hug his father.

"Dad…" Gabriel frowned,

"Son, are you okay?" Adrien's lip quivered,

"I-I had a nightmare that mom d-died…you were a villain, I was paralyzed and then y-you died too…" Gabriel held him close,

"Your Mom and I are okay. And I would never hurt you, I promise. I'm not going anywhere." He smiled, "And when you get home from school, I will still be here."

Adrien nodded, walking downstairs. Gabriel looked at it, "Nice ring."

"Thanks. Natalie got it for me." Gabriel sent Natalie a playfully dark look,

"Damnit Natalie! Do you know how many times I've had to give my precious son a _pen_ because you steal all the good gifts?!" Natalie giggled. Then, Adrien froze.

A little girl came bounding down the stairs. She seemed about five years younger than Adrien, with platinum blonde hair and pale blue eyes.

"Adri!" Adrien was beyond confused, then he almost cried when he saw his Mom come down with the girl,

"It seems Alina wanted to wish her big brother a good day at school." Emilie grinned, picking up the girl, Alina. Adrien gaped, and Natalie whispered into his ear,

"Oh yeah, since they were less paranoid, they had another kid. Alina Agreste is your little sister." Adrien found himself happier and happier by the second. He'd always wanted to be a big brother. And it seemed Natalie had thought of everything, and there was no price to the wish. Maybe he shouldn't have been as worried…

Emilie handed Adrien a lunch box full of baked goods and a normal lunch, then she kissed him on the cheek, "Have a good day at school, honey. Do you want to walk, or drive?"

"Walk, please. With Natalie maybe…?" Gabriel shrugged,

"Sure. Could you drop off Alina at school as well, Natalie?" Natalie nodded, leading the two Agreste children out of the mansion. There were still the walls around it, but Adrien noticed it looked less like a prison and more just a general precaution, which he welcomed when he remembered Marinette's stalking.

Alina was skipping happily in front of them, so Adrien turned to Natalie, "What else is different?"

"Not much. Hawk Moth still happened, but it didn't affect you."

"Wait, so what happened to my family was inflicted on someone else?! WHO?!"

"The Dupain-Cheng family." Adrien stopped in his tracks,

"S-So Marinette…."

"Took your place? Yes. Though she gave the Cat Miraculous to Fu after…so it wasn't hard to steal. I promise I didn't take it from her directly."

"What about Ladybug? Who was Ladybug?"

"Lordbug." Natalie corrected, "And since it didn't affect the Agreste family, I don't know."

"Oh god…" Adrien ran to school, knots in his stomach, only to be stopped by Nino.

"Hey Dude!" He hugged his best friend tight, "Hornet really did make things better!"

"I wish…" Roxas ran over carrying Cecilia and Chloe joined.

Then Alya arrived, pushing Marinette's wheelchair. The others froze, and Adrien sighed. He still hated her for the lying, mistreating, and stalking, but he felt guilty nonetheless. So he just moved along.

"Hey Nino, did you know about my sister?" Nino shook his head,

"No." Adrien shrugged,

"Apparently with my parents having never learned about the Miraculous, they were less careful about things and I have a little sister."

"Sweet!" Roxas pulled back his windswept blonde hair, to reveal his left ear had two piercings,

"And I'm Lordbug!" Cecilia smiled, ruffling Roxas's hair,

"I'm happy for you, Roxy." Chloe wrapped an arm around Adrien,

"Come on, let's get to class."

…

Cecilia saw Marinette in class. Her pale pink eyes narrowed she muttered "Bitch got what she deserved." She smirked, getting Roxas's attention—regardless of being blind, he had some impressive intuition. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly, not expecting the touch. "I'm not sorry for Marinette. Adrien deserved better than her." She turned her head away from Roxas to stare at Adrien laughing with Nino. She smiled happily, her rage towards Marinette subsiding.

…

Adrien could feel Marinette staring at him. Did she remember the original timeline? A part of him hoped not, because that would mean she would know she had taken his place.

He was happy to have his parents back, but he still felt guilty which would have happened to Tom and Sabine. His stomach was in knots, but he kept his chill until he got home, where he punched the wall.

Natalie came in, "Adrien? Are you not happy?" He tore at his hair,

"I-I don't know… I love my family, but Marinette…"

"You said she means nothing to you." Natalie reminded him, "I didn't think it would bother you."

"I don't wish what happened to me on anyone. Not even Marinette." Natalie sighed,

"I'll tell your parents that you're taking a nap. Go check on her if you want." Then she left and Plagg emerged. For the first time since the wish, the two were alone.

Plagg flew at Adrien's neck, crying and clinging, "I was so scared I wouldn't see you again!" Adrien smiled,

"It's okay, Plagg. It's okay…claws out!" Since Marinette had taken his place, he knew Nooroo was with Marinette. He loved that little butterfly kwami, but he did love the Cat Miraculous transformation and missed it.

Chat Noir looked at his leather outfit that he missed so much, and leapt out the window.

OoOoO

Marinette was staring out the window blankly. She remember bits a pieces of the original timeline, such as being Ladybug and Adrien being paralyzed, but she did not remember the identity of Chat Noir/Papillon. But both of her parents were gone…Plagg was gone…

There was a knock on her skylight, and Marinette saw who was likely the new Cat Miraculous wielder.

"Hey…" He smiled, "Marinette, right?" She nodded, "I'm Chat Noir." She smiled,

"Nice to meet you. Warning, Plagg has a love of cheese."

"Oh I know." He smiled, "I brought some fabrics. I heard you like to sew." Marinette paused,

"How do you know so much about me?"

"Plagg." He winked. Maybe he could try befriending her as Chat, no stalker crush to get between them. He sat down, "So…do you need to talk? You seemed upset."

Marinette sighed, "Chat…thanks for stopping by…but I kind of want to be alone right now."

"O-Oh…okay…I'll stop by tomorrow?" She turned with a small smile,

"I'd like that."

"Well then, farewell _Purr_ incess." She giggled and he left, remembering how nice it had felt to be with her before his trust was shattered. But maybe she wasn't a stalker in this timeline…? Either way, he would give her a chance and help her through this.

OoOoO

After playing video games for hours with his parents, Gorilla, Natalie, and Alina—which was all kinds of fun—Chat Noir was on top of the Eiffel Tower when Lordbug landed alongside another hero.

Lordbug wore a skin-tight ladybug patterned suit with black accents on the knees, upper arms, hands and neck. He also had a yo-yo around his waist. His mask was the same as Ladybug's, and it made his clouded violet eyes stand out. Roxas Sommers.

The other hero wore a pale pink and grey bodysuit which had a black turtleneck. Her mask was pink at the top, and grey at the bottom. Her strawberry blonde hair was in twin buns resembling mouse ears, and her weapon—a jump rope—was around her waist like a tail.

"Cecilia?"

"It's Mulmouse right now." She corrected. Lordbug shrugged,

"I decided that it wouldn't be smart to use temporary heroes only for the akumas and sentimonsters, so I show them the ropes first."

"Don't worry." Chat assured, "There won't be any more monsters. But there are plenty of civilians who need our help with normal crimes. Ready?" Lordbug nodded,

"Ready as I'll ever be."

…

Wayzz gazed at Master Fu, "You know the wish has been used."

"Yes. But because of that, the Peacock is back in my care. Nooroo has a good wielder, and Adrien still has Plagg."

"But master, you know there could be another threat because of the meddling with time!"

"It's only a possibility." He smiled, "For now, even if this wish is wrong, we need to focus on Adrien regaining his trust in Marinette. They are meant for each other, and they will need that trust back soon."

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"Wait, and hope for the best."

 **A/N: Again shorter chapter, but they will get longer, promise. So Marinette's family was the price for Adrien's. But overall things are really good for Adrien.**

 **Remember to review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry. Family drama, I had to be a therapist, and school decided to be rude and start early.**

 **Also, there were mixed feelings about the last chapter. It was going to be an arc, but I'm just gonna finish it—and therefore this story—soon.**

 **Chapter 14**

It had been a few weeks now, and Adrien and the team realized this world was not as perfect as they had thought.

While the anger towards Marinette had delayed the horrid guilt, it had come crashing down by the end of the week. For Adrien it was worse, since he was the one she replaced. And his constant visits as Chat Noir didn't help things, because he was realizing that he had only seen one of her flaws and now the whole person. When she didn't have a crush on him, she was a fun person to be around. Honestly, he was falling in love with the Marinette who wasn't a stammering mess around him, because he could learn more about her this way.

Before, all he had seen was a girl who loved fashion, friendship was debatable at times, and apparently broke multiple laws. But he hadn't had a chance to see the brilliant, crafty, kind, video-game loving designer. He'd seen it a couple times, but not enough to consider this the norm.

Because of his guilt and blooming crush, he showed her designs to his father and got Marinette an internship, and a babysitting gig with Alina.

Still, he wanted things to go back to the way they were. No, he didn't want his parents gone, or to be paralyzed again, but at least Marinette would have a chance at a happy life.

The only problem was Alina.

She hadn't existed in the previous timeline, so reversing the wish would be basically killing her. And he did care about his little sister. He wondered if she was Natalie's failsafe or something, just in case it came to this.

So here he was, debating what to do with the friends.

"You want to go back to the hell that was your life?" Cecilia asked incredulously, "Why?!"

"It's for the best." Adrien muttered. Roxas sighed,

"Well Tikki, it's been a pleasure." Tikki emerged,

"Agreed, Roxas. But Adrien, what about Alina?" Adrien got up, making sure to do everything he could think of using his legs for, while he still could.

"I know. Is there a way to pull Alina into our timeline?" Tikki hesitated,

"Another child will die in her place—likely one of Roxas's siblings." Roxas got up,

"Oh hell no. Now Adrien, I respect you wanting to bring your sister, but if you get _any_ of my siblings involved in this, I will not hesitate to flay you alive. First friend or not, my family comes first. That and death by my hands is infinitely more merciful than if my parents or Uncle Jared got their hands on you."

"No no, nothing like that!" Adrien assured, "I'm debating how stupid of a decision it is to talk to Natalie about this."

"That's a terrible idea." Cecilia said with her arms crossed, "What if she had alternate motives than you? That could go _really_ badly."

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"She could kill you and bury you in the Pet Semetery." Aelin said, and everyone turned, startled by her sudden appearance, "Mom says that's the general go-to for bad things."

"How long have you been listening in?" Chloe asked. Aelin shrugged, casually braiding her hair and her posture much more formal than her twin, but not quite Chloe's own. It was more to subtly show off her beauty.

"Since Celestial/Natalie changed the timeline." Aelin replied, "What? You think I wouldn't notice my brother talking to a magic bug?" Roxas looked away,

"Have you told the rest of the family?"

"Didn't have to. Mom took one look at Tikki and said 'been there done that' whatever that is supposed to mean. Dad was surprisingly chill too." Chloe decided to contribute,

"Adrien, Natalie gave you everything you could have wanted. If she knew about your change of heart, it makes sense she would accept that, knowing you were happy. And she was the one with the godlike power, so she can probably find a way to pull Alina with us free of cost."

"Sounds like a plan." Adrien stood up, "Should I tell Marinette?"

"Tell her tonight as Chat." Roxas suggested, "that way she won't immediately know who you are, just in case that knowledge might put her in danger as she is the current Papillon."

"Right. After school, I'll talk to her. Wish me luck." Plagg emerged,

"You're going to need it."

OoOoO

Adrien walked into Natalie's room—he hadn't known before that Natalie lived in the mansion in a casita of the sort, but apparently she did—fidgeting with his ring, "Natalie? Can we talk?"

Natalie turned from where she was letting her hair down and slipping into something a bit more casual, since formality was not required in a less controlling Agreste household, "Yes?"

"I need to reverse your wish…" he said, "But…is there a way to take Alina with us?" Natalie froze, turning,

"What? Why would you want to reverse it when you have everything you could possibly want?"

"Because no matter how mad I was, I wouldn't wish what happened to me in the previous timeline on anyone, especially Marinette! I love her, Natalie, and even then I could have mended our friendship with a little time!" he was letting raw emotion show, his voice cracking, "Please…"

He didn't know when was the exact moment Natalie's demeanor changed from relaxed to something dark, but sometime between when he started and finished talking, she suddenly seemed a whole lot scarier.

"You ungrateful little brat." She seethed, "You would seriously sacrifice your own parents and your sister all for some girl? There is no way I know of to take Alina with." She stood tall, taking full advantage of the like three inches she had over him. Adrien knew Natalie had a point, but then he remembered that Tom and Sabine were currently suffered from what his parents had brought upon themselves, and knew this was the right thing to do.

"She's not just some girl. And mother and father made their choice when they started using the peacock. You know this isn't right, I know you do." Then he noticed Natalie shift into something that was either a monster or a goddess, a black dress flowing, and a crown of purple thorns in her hair. Her eyes turned gold.

She snapped her fingers, and Adrien screamed as his legs gave out under him, becoming paralyzed once again.

"Oh Adrien," she said coldly, "I didn't do this for you. I did it for your father. But I do care about you happiness, so your girl's family is restored. But there is still a price." She grabbed him, dragging him down to the lair, "Your father no longer knows this was built. Don't think anyone will find you." She threw him only the ground in the observatory, "So I'll just have you take the blunt of the price, and I'll let you get another chance when you learn to be grateful."

Adrien gasped as he felt crushing pain in his lungs and it spread to his entire body. Then he slipped from consciousness and into an endless sleep.

Natalie sighed, "This isn't what I wanted, Adrien. But you'll change your mind soon enough."

Since this was the reality she created, she had kept her powers of combining the Ladybug and Black Cat. As long as they were in this reality and the Ladybug and Black Cat weren't merged here, she was unstoppable. She could choose who got what price forced upon them, she ruled this world.

She noticed Plagg trying to rouse Adrien, but didn't pay the little cat any heed until she was sent flying backwards,

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Plagg roared, "REVERSE IT _NOW_!"

"Why should I?" Natalie asked calmly, "He asked for this. And if I even touch the ring, you belong to me." Plagg then grabbed the ring from Adrien's cold hand. He growled, showing his true power which was hidden in the form of a small cat,

"I will be back, and I advise you kill yourself to escape what I have in store for you." Then he was gone, and Natalie shrugged, changing back to an assistant, and going off to forge a ransom note to keep Gabriel and Emilie busy from knowing the truth of their son's whereabouts and condition.

OoOoO

Plagg flew as fast as he could to Marinette, who he found walking around and sobbing tears of joy from where she was on the phone.

"Marinette!" He called, and she turned, crashing to the floor from the force of the collision.

"Plagg?!" She asked, "Where's Chat?" Plagg sucked in a breath,

"Do you remember?"

"Remember what?" She asked, "Where is Chat?"

Plagg sighed, "Look, hopefully the blanks will fill as I explain." So he did, about everything from Adrien being paralyzed so long ago to present day. Nooroo emerged,

"Mari, Plagg is telling the truth." But they noticed Marinette was crying.

"I…I've remembered bits and pieces for a while now, getting stronger the closer I got to Chat…but I never thought it was real until now. I-I thought I had schizophrenia or something." She looked at the brooch and the ring in her hand, laughing sadly, "So Adrien gave up everything to save me and reverse the wish? I'll have to be extra grateful."

"He wanted to." Plagg said, "But Natalie forced him to take the entire price instead. So right now he is slipping deeper and deeper into a coma as we speak. We have to hurry if we want to set things right."

"Right." Marinette pulled out her phone, calling their friends, "Guys, don't question things, but Adrien is in danger and we need the superhero team to save him!"

Lordbug and Carapace jumped through the window within three minutes, and Cecilia came up the stairs with Chloe and Aelin within ten. Roxas swapped the Ladybug for the Black Cat, so Marinette could use the Miraculous she was best with, and he could work with whatever he was given.

When Plagg explained again, Nino showed a rage unlike anything any of them had seen before. It was debatable if Plagg or Nino was scarier, even though they were both equally furious.

"That bitch." He growled, "I don't care what I have to do, but I am saving my _brother_. We should have been there as backup! I should have gone with him, and now we have to fix this mess." Roxas nodded,

"Agreed." He was reading through the grimoire again, translating in a journal next to him—since in this timeline, Tom and Sabine had had the grimoire, so it had been on the shelf—"And from what I gather, a person shouldn't have that kind of power for as long as Natalie has had it. It's going to destroy her mind, and then her body. So we need to act quickly, before a misguided and desperate friend becomes a heartless villain. What she did to Adrien gives me a good idea of what to say about this." He stood up, "I say we try the original plan with the multiple akumatizations again, but this time we use them to draw her out so she is handling them while we find Adrien."

"Yeah," Cecilia mused, "But I've noticed she is very protective of the Agreste family, so what if she pulls a Maleficent in _Sleeping Beauty_ and makes it damn near impossible to get in?"

"Well," Marinette said, "That's why, before we attack, we have to restore the memories of and then talk to Gabriel and Emilie Agreste."

 **A/N: Still shorter. This was going to be a couple chapters of Marichat, forgiveness, and such, but the mixed feelings made me just want to get this story wrapped up. And Natalie is still the main antagonist, because there is no way power like that wouldn't go to someone's head.**

 **And Alina will have more importance in the coming chapters as something other than a blockade to reversing the wish.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Duusu had decided enough was enough. She was damaged, and she knew it, and here was Adrien, Emilie and Gabriel's son, paying the price for it.

She remembered both timelines and knew it was the fault of her damage that Adrien was currently limp on the ground, falling deeper and deeper into an endless sleep. She had flown here while the teens tried to talk to Gabriel and Emilie and tell them the truth. Sure, it wasn't her fault she damaged, but she felt at least a little responsible, and that made her miserable with guilt. She was the kwami of Emotion after all.

Duusu clipped the damaged Miraculous to Adrien's shirt. It was broken, so she could will it to transform. Adrien wouldn't be affected by the endless sleep if he was transformed, and he could stay like this indefinitely if he didn't use an Amok.

"Spread your feathers!" Duusu called and was sucked into the Miraculous.

Adrien, or Paon, jolted awake. He blinked a couple times, wondering what happened, before noticing a note from Duusu.

 _Adrien, I brought you back. Don't detransform. Get away._

 _\- Duusu_

Paon gaped at the note, looking down at himself. He looked like a younger version of Mayur. He didn't know he looked closer to his mother when she had been using the Miraculous.

He tried to move his legs, only to get nothing. Well, that probably meant Marinette could walk again, and that was good. But it did put him at a disadvantage here. On the bright side, he had been paralyzed for a year and knew how to work with it. The boosted strength from the Miraculous would help him too.

He managed to rip the shackles on his wrists off the wall and make his way across the observatory to the window, where he used the chains he still had on his wrists as grappling hooks on the windows, hoisting himself up, hitting just the right angle for his dead legs to lock in place, which allowed him to stand upright.

Then he dove out of the window, catching himself on a tree and flipping onto a roof a little bit away from the mansion.

Paon took a moment to process what he just did. Holy parkour power.

"Okay," he looked down at his hand and saw the ring wasn't there, "Plagg, where are you?" He used his chains as grappling hooks to get upright and perch on a chimney. Maybe this fan could be useful.

OoOoO

The Miraculous Team had been just about to walk into the mansion when they saw Paon fall out the window and parkour to safety.

A moment of silence for them to process what they just saw, before Nino and Cecilia flipped out, followed by Roxas and Marinette.

"WHAT?! Shell on!" Nino transformed. Roxas had the Cat Miraculous on at that moment but handed it to the Turtle Hero, and Marinette passed him the Butterfly.

"Remember, the peacock is dangerous. But Adrien needs two if he's going to be able to walk. Have him transform with one, remove the peacock, and then transform with the other." Roxas suggested. Aelin turned to her twin,

"Then you won't have a Miraculous." Roxas shrugged,

"I'm fine. Maybe I'll get a Tenshi, but I'm not useless without my sight."

They walked into the mansion and saw Gabriel and Emilie were frantic and terrified. Natalie was weeping, and Alina was confused.

"Mr. and Mrs. Agreste?" Marinette greeted. Gabriel looked up,

"Marinette? You're walking."

"Yes. And that's thanks to Adrien's sacrifice." Emilie whipped to face the teenager,

"Sacrifice? What's happened to my boy!?" Cecilia stood in front, grabbing Gabriel's shoulders,

"For you to understand, you have to remember! So remember, damnit!"

Somehow, this worked. Gabriel blinked a few times, and it seemed Emilie was also coming to reality. Alina was confused, and Natalie was horrified.

Gabriel looked down at himself, and then to Emilie, then to Alina, and then finally settling on Natalie.

"What have you done to Adrien?" He asked slowly, as though begging it wasn't true. Natalie took a step backward before she laughed maniacally, her eyes changing back to molten gold.

"Oh, Gabriel, I did this for you. I saved Emilie, and you always knew Adrien could be the price. And look, you have a new child too. I made her just for you." Alina whirled around,

"WHAT?!" Cecilia grabbed Alina and Roxas put himself in front of his sister, before tackling Natalie to the ground.

"Roxas!" Aelin shouted, trying to reach her brother, only to see Roxas pull out a knife and aim it at Natalie's throat. It was their kinda-aunt Alexa's knife, which she called Truth-Teller. He stabbed it into Natalie's stomach, which got a scream out of Gabriel, seeing his friend be stabbed.

"How do we reverse the wish? You're unstable, Natalie, so it's for the best." They all watched as Natalie suddenly went lax.

"To reverse the wish, you have to take my power or kill me," Roxas asked another question,

"Are you really Natalie?"

"Not at this moment, no."

"Then, who are you?" 'Natalie' smirked, shifting ultimately into her other form,

"Call me Null." She opened both her hands and Roxas yelped as thorned vines grabbed him. Cecilia went to help him out, and Aelin karate-kicked Null in the face, only to get sent flying backward into the thorns. She yelped at the pain before she was practically crucified by them.

"GO!" Roxas shouted to Marinette, "Find Nino and Adrien! Take them with you," he gestured to the Agrestes. Cecilia turned as well,

"Get Adrien, clumsy. He might be the only one who can stop this. The only way to defeat Null is to fight fire with fire! We can hold her off for now."

"STOP!" Everything literally froze at Alina's cry. She looked at her hands. "They won't be able to stop Null for longer than a minute. Mommy, Daddy, I know I'm not really yours, but I do love you. Go find Adrien."

Then she exploded into a being of fire and rage and victory and pain.

Marinette watched in awe. Of course! Alina was made by Null, so obviously she had a kernel of that power! She would be able to help the others or keep Null at bay.

"Alina!" Emilie shouted, and Alina's angel form smiled at her before attacking her creator. Marinette put a hand on Mrs. Agreste's shoulder,

"She knows the price of what she's doing. I don't think she cares. We should take this time she's given us, and use it to make a plan and find Adrien."

Aelin ripped herself free of the vines and ran back to her brother, who was bleeding from the thorns digging into his skin. She didn't hesitate to help Cecilia try ripping him free. Only to no avail.

Null was fighting Alina but then turned to Queen Bee, who'd been looking for the origin of the thorn-vines.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alina tackled Null,

"No. Eyes on me."

Gabriel, Emilie, and Marinette got out as the mansion formed a dark castle surrounded by the thorns, and otherworldly creatures started rising.

"Natalie..." Gabriel exhaled, a hand over his mouth. Emilie was equally horrified. Marinette grabbed both of them,

"Okay, I told Nino that if we found Adrien, the plan was to take him back to my bakery. Come on!"

They got to the bakery and saw Paon there. Carapace was next to him.

"So only the peacock protects him from the curse." Paon nodded, looking to Nooroo and Plagg,

"Sorry."

"That doesn't matter!" Plagg said, "As long as you're okay for now." He turned and hissed loudly at Gabriel, "Back!"

Gabriel and Emilie ignored the kwami, gripping their son tight and begging for forgiveness, explaining they remembered everything. Paon wept in their arms,

"Mom...Dad..." Marinette coughed,

"So we need a plan. Our friends have been captured, but Roxas used some weird dagger to get Null to tell us the only way to reverse the wish is to defeat or kill her."

"NULL?!" Plagg's eyes widened, "Oh no. The only way to beat Null is with another Null."

"I don't understand," Paon said. Gabriel was the one to explain,

"Null is what happens if you fuse Tikki and Plagg into the ultimate power. So to put it in terms a teen would understand, Null is the kwami of OP. If Natalie is in there, it's very deeply buried."

"The problem," Tikki went on, "is that whoever takes Null with have no choice but to kill themselves to save the world, since that power is too dangerous."

"I'll do it." Marinette said, "I am the one who's supposed to fix everything."

"No." Gabriel forced his hand over Emilie's mouth, "It was my idea even to try using the Butterfly and the Peacock. I started this mess and dragged Natalie into it. It's only responsible that I will be the one to finish it."

"Dad, no!" Paon begged, only to get his tears brushed away.

"It's okay, Adrien. I am so proud of you. Be a better man than me, okay? Promise?" Paon wept,

"I...I promise."

Carapace removed his Miraculous, "Marinette, take mine. I have a feeling you'll need it." Paon put on the Butterfly as well, merging them into another form of Monarch. Now he could use the Tenshi, sending them in as

scouts, and giving Jade Turtle a heads up.

Plagg glared at Gabriel as he put on the Cat Miraculous, "If you fuck up, I'm gonna bite the shit out of you."

"Fortunately, I have no plans on failing." He put on the earrings,

 _"I wanted someone strong who could protect me._ " Emilie mused. Gabriel turned, joining in

 _"I let my anger fester and infect me._

 _This solution is a lie._

 _No one here deserves to die!_

 _Except for me and the monster I created._

 _Yeah!_

 _Yeah!"_ He transformed, bursting out the window with all the power,

 _"Heads up, Natalie, I'm a dead man walking!_

 _Can't hide from me, I'm your dead man walking!_

 _And there's your final bell,"_ the school bell rang loudly,

 _"It's one more dance and then farewell,_

 _Cheek to cheek in hell with a dead man walking!"_

 **A/N: Shamelessly adding _Heathers_ is shameless.**


End file.
